Foreign Media: The Battle for AI Talent in China: Tech Giants Compete for Talent
A report from the French newspaper "Les Echos" reveals that Chinese internet and technology giants are engaged in a fierce "battle for talent" in the fields of artificial intelligence and technology. They are making every effort to attract top scientists, engineers, and researchers to drive their technological advancement and compete for industry leadership.
The report points out that the battle for AI talent is not only taking place in the United States but also in China. Although there are no sky-high salaries at the official level as seen in the U.S., the speed of "talent acquisition" in the industry is equally astonishing. In recent years, the Chinese internet and technology industry has entered an unprecedented competitive cycle. The rapid development of cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and chip design has made top technical and research talents a core resource that major companies are competing for. A kind of "war" - a battle for talent - is intensifying among giants like Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com, ByteDance, and Baidu.
Alibaba Loses Several Core Talents
In the United States, Apple is facing a loss of AI talent; in China, it is Alibaba that is in trouble. Although Alibaba plans to invest 5 billion euros in AI and cloud computing, several key AI talents from Alibaba Cloud's Qwen team have recently left. Such personnel changes directly reflect the urgent demand for high-level R&D personnel in the industry and the common phenomenon of mutual talent poaching between companies.
Severe Supply-Demand Imbalance for AI Talent in China
Official data shows that there are more than 4,500 AI companies in China. The competition for talent is not limited to R&D or management positions. According to data from the recruitment platform ZhiLian Recruitment, the number of AI-related positions increased by more than 40% this year. McKinsey estimates that by 2030, China will need about 6 million AI professionals.
Currently, approximately 500 universities across China have introduced AI-related courses. However, given the short-term difficulty in filling the talent gap, Chinese AI startups like DeepSeek have already begun looking for talent abroad.
Recent Graduates Become the Focus of Competition
Against the backdrop of deep concerns over youth unemployment, AI field graduates are highly sought after. Multiple tech giants have announced their recruitment plans for the class of 2026. Alibaba plans to recruit no fewer than 7,000 graduates, with 60% coming from AI-related majors; in subsidiaries such as Alibaba Cloud and DingTalk, this ratio reaches as high as 80%. ByteDance plans to recruit more than 5,000 graduates, focusing on R&D and algorithm positions. Meituan plans to recruit nearly 6,000 graduates to further strengthen its technical team.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840544393127947/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.