China Could Yet Trump the US in a Big Scramble for AI Talent

Chinese education is driving advances that America should envy

- CATHERINE THORBECKE

Today's eye-watering artificial intelligence (AI) outlays aren't for high-end chips or data centers, but individuals. The competition for AI talent prompted Meta Platforms to reportedly offer sign-on bonuses of $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. The latest victim: Apple Inc, which just lost top executive Ruoming Pang to Meta.

It's telling that so many superstar players that US tech titans are boasting of adding to their rosters are of Chinese origin. Including Pang, eight of the 12 new recruits to the Meta Superintelligence Labs team graduated from universities in mainland China before pursuing careers abroad. It means that a key driver of the global AI race is a scramble for Chinese talent.

The outsize role they play in developing AI systems for China's geopolitical rival isn't likely lost on Beijing. In other tech fields where workers hold a knowledge edge, the government hasn't been afraid of asking them to return home. Authorities have already reportedly restricted travel for some of DeepSeek's employees. Instead of cracking down on immigration, US policymakers must do more to entice the best and brightest from China and beyond.