TikTok owner ByteDance is preparing an artificial intelligence model for real-time spatial video generation that could launch as soon as next month, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Founder Zhang Yiming is personally overseeing the project, coordinating different business units and directing AI resources and computing capacity toward its development, the report said. The launch timing remains uncertain and could change.
The model is built on Seedance, ByteDance's existing AI video-generation technology. It is said to be designed to create interactive virtual worlds for livestreams, short-form dramas, and games.
Spatial video models, also called world models, create virtual environments that can change based on what users or AI agents do. They could eventually be used in robotics, gaming, and self-driving cars.
ByteDance's model aims to generate virtual environments that respond to the voices and movements of people using the company's Pico headsets. It could produce on-demand video with latency of about 0.05 seconds at 20 frames per second, per the Bloomberg report.
A push into world models
ByteDance would enter a growing field that already includes Google, Meta, and AI startups.
Google opened Project Genie to U.S. AI Ultra subscribers earlier this year. The experimental tool lets users create and explore virtual worlds using text prompts and images. It is based on Google DeepMind's Genie 3, which can create interactive environments in real time.
Meta's Video Joint Embedding Predictive Architecture 2 (V-JEPA 2) takes a different approach. The model is designed to understand the physical world, predict what could happen next, and help robots decide what to do.
If successful, ByteDance could also compete more directly with Meta's Quest headsets and Apple's Vision Pro. Both companies have invested heavily in virtual and mixed reality, but the devices have yet to become widely used.
Seedance has become one of ByteDance's main AI products. It supports the company's products, including video-editing platform CapCut and Doubao, China's most popular AI chatbot, and is also used by creators, film studios, and AI startups.
ByteDance still faces strong AI competition in China from Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Moonshot AI.
The company is also spending heavily on AI models, chips, and data centers. Last week, Bloomberg reported that ByteDance secured a $30 billion loan as it expands its AI projects.