Who's who in AIAI glossary
ByteDance
The Chinese tech giant that owns TikTok has become a heavyweight in generative AI. Its video model Seedance rivals the best American generators, to the point that the company has received cease-and-desist notices from major Hollywood studios.
In other words
Little known to the general public under its own name, it is nonetheless the company behind the most downloaded app in the world in recent years.
Alyriaz articles that mention it
- Making your first AI video: the guide
Want to create a short video with AI? The simple steps to get a clean result, without spending all night on it or paying for nothing.
- Has China caught up with America? The answer depends on what you look at
For three years, we've wondered whether China would catch up with the US in AI. The question no longer has a single answer: it depends on the modality. Here's a data-driven look at text, video, and image.
- Wan 3.0: the video model that accepts a spreadsheet as input
On 24 August, Alibaba widened access to Wan 3.0, which can generate thirty seconds of sound video in a single pass and accept documents as input. It is being compared to leading models, and we revisit the unfulfilled promise of openness.
- China switches off millions of virtual friends: on 15 July, AI companions disappear
On 15 July 2026, an unprecedented Chinese law comes into force, forcing ByteDance and Alibaba to shut down the emotional AI companions of Doubao and Qwen. Millions of users risk permanently losing agents built up over months. We break down this regulation, what it really targets, and the universal questions it raises.
- Seedream 5.0 Pro and Seedance 2.5: ByteDance no longer wants to generate images, it wants to replace your studio
ByteDance launched Seedream 5.0 Pro on 8 July 2026, an image model designed for professional production, with pixel-level editing and layer separation. It forms a duo with Seedance 2.5, the video model capable of generating 30 seconds in a single pass. We break down what this tandem changes, and the legal cloud that still hangs over it.
- Seedance 2.0: When AI makes cinema
AI no longer just generates text. With Seedance 2.0 by ByteDance, you type a sentence and get a stunning film scene, with synchronised sound and dialogue.