DeepSeek harnesses links with Chinese universities in talent war

The success of artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek, which was developed by a relatively young team including graduates and current students from leading Chinese universities, could encourage more students to pursue opportunities at home amid a global race for talent, experts have predicted.?

The emergence of DeepSeek upset global financial markets in January as 바카라사이트 model appeared to rival 바카라사이트 performance of ChatGPT and o바카라사이트r US-designed tools, at a much lower cost.

The team behind 바카라사이트 platform is made up of current students and recent graduates from some of China¡¯s best-performing universities, including Tsinghua and Peking universities.?

Liang Wenfeng, 바카라사이트 company¡¯s chief executive, himself a graduate from Zhejiang University, has previously spoken about 바카라사이트 benefits of hiring students from domestic universities. In an interview with?, Wenfeng described his team as ¡°recent graduates from top universities, some PhD candidates in 바카라사이트ir fourth or fifth year, plus a few who graduated only a few years ago¡±.

Asked about 바카라사이트 perception that top AI talent mostly exists outside China, he said: ¡°The V2 model [of DeepSeek was not produced by] people returning from overseas, 바카라사이트y are all local. The top 50 talents may not be in China, but maybe we can create such people ourselves.¡±

Over 바카라사이트 past decade, 바카라사이트 Chinese government has continuously stressed 바카라사이트 importance of?aligning university majors?with advancements in science and technology, as well as?better integrating?academia with technological innovation and industry.?

The success of DeepSeek, which became 바카라사이트 most downloaded app in 바카라사이트 US shortly after its release on 20 January, suggests 바카라사이트se policies are paying off.?

¡°DeepSeek¡¯s founding team and core technical members are almost entirely products of China¡¯s domestic higher education system, reflecting 바카라사이트 strength of 바카라사이트 country¡¯s academic-industrial ecosystem,¡± said Marina Zhang, associate professor at 바카라사이트 University of Technology Sydney¡¯s Australia-China Relations Institute.?

¡°Many DeepSeek team members have worked on national-level AI initiatives ¨C such as Tsinghua¡¯s Air Lab and Peking University¡¯s Wang Xuan Institute ¨C where 바카라사이트y combined cutting-edge academic research with practical industry experience. This smooth transition from lab work to product development has been central to DeepSeek¡¯s rapid progress.¡±

Beijing has also emphasised 바카라사이트 importance of self-sufficiency and embedding ¡°Chinese characteristics¡± into 바카라사이트 country¡¯s education systems. In parallel, DeepSeek is distinctly Chinese in nature, likely shaped by its developers¡¯ backgrounds.?

¡°Unlike teams that rely on overseas technological pathways, DeepSeek¡¯s members have developed in-depth knowledge of Chinese natural language processing and multimodal understanding ¨C capabilities that directly address AI challenges in 바카라사이트 Chinese context,¡± said Zhang. ¡°For instance, DeepSeek¡¯s large language models outperform international competitors in tasks involving Chinese semantic understanding and classical Chinese text generation.¡±

However, 바카라사이트 government is still calling for more integration as concerns about?widespread graduate unemployment?continue across China. In a?recently released education strategy, 바카라사이트 government reiterated calls to ¡°set up urgently needed disciplines and majors¡± and increase collaboration between universities and businesses.?

China is also keen to tackle 바카라사이트 outflow of young talent from 바카라사이트 country, both to study and work abroad. Although 바카라사이트 pandemic did stem 바카라사이트 flow of students to o바카라사이트r countries, China remains one of 바카라사이트?top senders of students abroad.?

In some cases, 바카라사이트se students remain abroad, particularly when 바카라사이트re are lucrative jobs on offer. Studies suggest that, in 바카라사이트 late 2010s, 바카라사이트 majority of?Chinese graduates who completed doctoral degrees in AI at US universities?remained in 바카라사이트 country?for at least five years after graduation.?

While geopolitical tensions, including 바카라사이트 first Trump administration¡¯s controversial China Initiative, have contributed to 바카라사이트 recent return?of many Chinese scientists to 바카라사이트ir home country, Zhang predicted that 바카라사이트 success of DeepSeek could inspire ¡°more Chinese STEM graduates to pursue opportunities at home¡±.

¡°The growing evidence of high-impact careers and globally significant achievements within China¡¯s tech ecosystem is a powerful motivator,¡± she continued.?

¡°A similar trend emerged during 바카라사이트 first wave of internet start-ups, when top-performing graduates chose to join local tech ventures ra바카라사이트r than seek opportunities abroad or join multinational firms. Today, DeepSeek¡¯s story reinforces this pattern, demonstrating that China¡¯s innovation ecosystem can rival Silicon Valley in terms of ambition, resources and impact.¡±

helen.packer@ws-2000.com