ByteDance and Tencent escalate AI talent competition amid DeepSeek researcher's reported move

China's artificial intelligence sector is witnessing intensified competition for top engineering talent among major technology companies. ByteDance and Tencent are actively recruiting from rivals and attracting researchers from international hubs like Silicon Valley. A recent high-profile case involves Guo Daya, a lead researcher on DeepSeek's R1 model, who reportedly joined ByteDance's Seed AI development team. Chinese media outlet LatePost reported on Thursday that Guo's annual compensation could reach 100 million yuan (US$14.7 million). ByteDance vice-president Li Liang disputed this compensation figure in a social media post, stating that the Seed team operates under a standard compensation framework including cash, ByteDance equity, and Doubao-related stock options. Li noted that some employees might earn hundreds of millions of yuan through stock options after four years but didn't confirm Guo's employment. A ByteDance employee revealed that Guo's name hasn't yet appeared in the company's internal staff system, though new hires sometimes use pseudonyms. The South China Morning Post couldn't verify LatePost's reporting. These developments highlight how high-profile departures, disputed compensation claims, and startup spin-outs characterize the escalating battle for AI expertise in China's rapidly accelerating technology sector.