ByteDance's AI Push Puts Tycoon Among World's Richest 500

Entrepreneur Zhou Chaonan has become one of just three Chinese women billionaires in the ranks of the world's 500 richest people, propelled into the rarefied club by the rise of TikTok owner ByteDance and the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

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The 64-year-old is the founder of data centre operator Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group, which provides the computing power enabling the AI ambitions of its main client, ByteDance.

Range Intelligent's stock rose 105 per cent in 2024, giving Ms Zhou a net worth of US$7.7 billion (S$10.5 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is valuing her for the first time. Ms Zhou is the chairwoman of the firm.

Her ascent comes as Chinese billionaires slowly recover their wealth after three years of losses from a property crisis and President Xi Jinping's push for common prosperity at the expense of powerful private business owners.

Ms Zhou and Range Intelligent did not respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment.

Range Intelligent's performance has been boosted by the Chinese government's supportive policy on AI infrastructure, as the nation looks to become a global leader in the field.

In December 2024, the company's shares rose along with a group of Chinese computing stocks after Premier Li Qiang urged innovation and infrastructure development in the sector, signalling more policy support for AI services.