The expertise of Chinese researchers in artificial intelligence (AI) is in the spotlight, as US tech giant Meta Platforms has recruited four leading scientists from OpenAI to enhance its competitive edge in the global AI race.
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Meta’s hiring of Zhao Shengjia, Ren Hongyu, Yu Jiahui and Bi Shuchao, reported by US tech news outlet The Information, was partially confirmed by Alexandr Wang, head of Meta’s AI unit and former CEO of Scale AI, in a social media post over the weekend.
Wang expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with the four researchers “towards superintelligence”. Meta and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As of Monday, the researchers had kept their OpenAI titles in their social media profiles. The recruitment, also reported by Bloomberg News, comes as Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg invests billions of dollars to attract top talent.
According to OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman, Meta has offered bonuses of up to US$100 million to entice engineers to switch companies. Earlier this month, Meta acquired a 49 per cent stake in Scale AI for US$14.2 billion to bring Wang on board.
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The hiring highlights the depth of Chinese talent at leading American AI firms. All four researchers share a similar academic trajectory, having completed their undergraduate education at prestigious Chinese universities before pursuing further studies in the US, according to their LinkedIn profiles and social media accounts.