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Can China compete in the AI talent war?

Half of DeepSeek’s team never left China for education or work, and those who did ultimately return to pursue AI development, say Stanford researchers

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    • The outsize role that Chinese talent play in developing AI systems for the US, its geopolitical rival, likely is not lost on Beijing.
    • The outsize role that Chinese talent play in developing AI systems for the US, its geopolitical rival, likely is not lost on Beijing. PHOTO: REUTERS

    Catherine Thorbecke

    Published Thu, Jul 10, 2025 · 04:47 PM

    THE latest eye-watering artificial intelligence (AI) outlays are not going towards high-end chips or data centre build-outs, but individuals.

    The competition for AI talent prompted Meta to reportedly offer sign-on bonuses of US$100 million to lure senior staff from rivals. It feels “as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something”, OpenAI’s chief research officer said of the aggressive poaching in a memo to staff obtained by Wired.

    The latest victim: Apple, which just lost top executive Pang Ruoming to Meta.

    Artificial IntelligenceTech talentDeepSeek

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