ByteDance released Doubao 2.0 on February 14, upgrading China's most widely used AI chatbot as competition intensifies with domestic and international rivals. The company said the Pro variant targets OpenAI's GPT 5.2 and Google's Gemini 3 Pro for complex reasoning tasks.
Doubao currently holds the top position among Chinese AI applications according to analytics firm QuestMobile. The update arrives one year after startup DeepSeek disrupted the market with low-cost AI models, prompting established players to accelerate development.
ByteDance announced the launch on Saturday, positioning the release ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations when consumer engagement typically peaks.
The company's Seed research team developed the model through Volcano Engine API services, focusing on long-chain reasoning and agent-based capabilities.
The Pro model specifically benchmarks against leading industry competitors for complex task execution. This strategic positioning follows ByteDance's broader AI investments, including a coding agent priced at 9.9 yuan ($1.30) for the first month that launched in November 2025.
Doubao's overseas version Dola reportedly surpassed 10 million daily active users globally by the end of 2025. The app maintains integration across ByteDance's ecosystem including Jianying, Ola Friend, and other platforms.
Chinese tech giants have escalated AI spending following DeepSeek's market entry. Alibaba reportedly allocated up to 480 billion yuan ($69 billion) for AI infrastructure over three years, while Tencent prepared 1 billion yuan in incentives for its Yuanbao AI platform.
ByteDance's cloud unit Volcano Engine previously launched the Doubao-Seed-Code model in November 2025 with a standard monthly fee of 40 yuan. The company's research team expanded to over 300 personnel across Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou offices.
The Doubao app reached 170 million monthly active users in China as of October 2025, surpassing DeepSeek's 145 million. ByteDance continues recruiting top PhD graduates globally through its Top Seed Talent Program for frontier AI research.
Industry observers note the new wave of Chinese AI development emphasizes consumer experience, accessibility, and cost efficiency. The competition reflects growing demand for everyday AI tools across messaging, content creation, and productivity platforms.
ByteDance's net profit reached approximately $40 billion in the first three quarters of 2025 according to company reports. The company maintains China's leading AI chatbot position while investing up to $23 billion in AI infrastructure for 2026.
