ByteDance launches AI coding agent for just $1.3 monthly
12 Nov 2025

Volcano Engine, the cloud division of TikTok's parent company ByteDance, has launched a new AI coding agent.

The Doubao-Seed-Code model comes at an introductory price of 9.9 yuan ($1.3) for the first month of subscription.

This move highlights the fierce competition in China's rapidly growing market for AI developer tools.

The standard monthly fee for the model is 40 yuan, according to a company statement.

Doubao's usage has doubled in past 6 months
AI expansion

ByteDance has been aggressively pushing into artificial intelligence (AI), with its Doubao chatbot seeing a two-fold increase in usage over the past six months.

Volcano Engine president Tan Dai revealed this at a corporate event in October.

The growth, he said, is a testament to the rapid adoption of AI by Chinese consumers and strengthens ByteDance's position as one of the world's top players in the field.

Doubao-Seed-Code model matches performance of Claude Sonnet
Competitive edge

The Doubao-Seed-Code model has set a new benchmark on the SWE-Bench Verified test, matching the performance of popular systems like Anthropic's Claude Sonnet.

The launch comes after US AI start-up Anthropic revised its service restrictions in September to deny access to subsidiaries of Chinese firms.

This move is seen as a sign of increasing polarization in the global AI landscape.