ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok, is expanding into the healthcare sector as it aims to broaden its business beyond advertising and live commerce. The company, well-known for its sophisticated content recommendation systems, has begun recruiting individuals with expertise in artificial intelligence for pharmaceutical research in Mountain View, Shanghai, and Beijing, as indicated on its careers page.

According to one of the advertised positions, the company is seeking professionals to “join our team and perform advanced research in the areas of drug discovery and production utilizing AI algorithms.”

This drug discovery group, currently with at least five open positions – including opportunities for interns – operates within the ByteDance AI Lab. Initially founded in 2016 to support ByteDance’s content platforms, such as the Chinese iteration of TikTok known as Douyin, the lab’s expansion into the pharmaceutical industry is logical, as the principles of machine learning that drive short-form video recommendations can also be applied to drug development.

The ByteDance AI Lab website states, “Considering the breadth of research areas within AI, these innovative technologies have potential applications throughout our entire product range.”

All five research roles in drug discovery necessitate a doctoral degree in a related field, including areas like computer science, mathematics, computational biology, and computational chemistry. Job descriptions specify that candidates will contribute to various stages of drug creation, including design, identification, and modeling.

ByteDance was not immediately available to provide a statement.

Several other major Chinese technology companies are also venturing into the health technology market. Tencent’s AI-driven drug research team, also part of the company’s AI Lab, has been consistently releasing research results since at least August 2019. Reuters reported in September that Baidu intends to secure $2 billion in funding for a new biotechnology company focused on drug discovery and AI-assisted diagnostics. Huawei is similarly involved in drug research, alongside advancements in medical imaging through its cloud services division.