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Guangdong targets AI talent from Tsinghua amid Beijing competition
Guangdong says it welcomed nearly 40 computer science students from Tsinghua, but it has not retained Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin or DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng.
South China’s Guangdong province is trying to narrow China’s widening AI talent gap by drawing in students from Beijing-based top universities, with local authorities welcoming nearly 40 computer science students from Tsinghua University this week, according to SCMP Economy.
The push highlights the difficulty of retaining established AI founders, as Guangdong failed to keep either Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin, who studied at Tsinghua and later earned a PhD at Carnegie Mellon University, or DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng, who attended Zhejiang University and ultimately settled in Hangzhou to launch both a quantitative hedge fund and DeepSeek.
SCMP Economy points to industry concentration as part of the challenge, citing Hurun Research Institute data showing Beijing leads with 19 of China’s top 50 AI companies, followed by Shanghai with 14. Guangzhou and Shenzhen together account for 10, while cities outside Guangdong, including Hangzhou, are increasingly attracting prominent AI firms.
Experts cited by SCMP Economy say the disparity is closely tied to how concentrated academic talent is, with second-tier cities building momentum around major technology firms, including DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics in Hangzhou, and semiconductor players in Hefei and Wuhan.