Recent media reports suggesting that ByteDance is exploring entry into the autonomous driving sector, including potential layouts for unmanned logistics under its Volcano Engine automotive industry line, have been addressed by the company.

In a response to media inquiries, ByteDance stated that while its large model frontier exploration includes research in areas such as physical AI, there are no plans to develop a smart driving business.

Some informed sources indicated that ByteDance's team had previously engaged in business discussions with leading autonomous driving teams, and the project is currently in early preparatory stages. The company has reportedly extended offers to numerous top-tier assisted driving or autonomous driving professionals, with some technical talent optimistic about the potential layout planning to join.

It is understood that ByteDance's Seed team was established in 2023, focusing on discovering new approaches to general artificial intelligence. Its research directions encompass large language models (LLM), speech, vision, world models, foundational infrastructure, AI infrastructure, and next-generation AI interaction, among other fields.

At the Volcano Engine Force Momentum Conference held on June 23, the Doubao large model version 2.1 was officially released. The Doubao video generation model, Seedance 2.0, received a simultaneous upgrade, while Seedance 2.5, the Doubao image creation model Seedream 5.0 Pro, and the Doubao audio generation model 1.0 made their debut.