China now leads global race for AI talent: Study
What's the story
China is now leading the global race for elite artificial intelligence (AI) talent, a new study has revealed. The research, conducted by Carnegie China, a branch of the US-based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, shows that 41% of the world's top AI researchers were hired by Chinese companies in 2025. This is a significant increase from just three years ago when only 27% of these elite researchers chose China over the US.
Shift in trend
Decline in US's share of top AI researchers
The study also highlights a major decline in the US's share of top AI researchers.
In 2025, only 34% chose American companies over their Chinese counterparts. This is a far cry from 2022 when the US attracted as much as 46% of these elite minds.
The report further shows that most elite AI researchers (57%) had their undergraduate degrees from China, compared to just 13% in America.
Market competition
China's top AI companies offering competitive salaries
The shift in the trend can be partly attributed to China's leading AI companies, DeepSeek and MoonShot AI, offering salaries on par with those in Silicon Valley.
The study defines elite AI researchers as academics and engineers whose papers have been accepted by NeurIPS, a prestigious conference in the field.
Industry insiders have warned that this growth should prompt the US to double down on attracting global talent.
Competitive advantage
'China should not be underestimated'
Lior Prosor, a partner at AI venture fund Deep33, has warned against underestimating China's growth.
He said, "China should not be underestimated. It is producing an extraordinary share of the world's AI researchers and PhDs, and it is a formidable, extremely well-financed competitor."
However, he also emphasized that America has an advantage China hasn't been able to replicate: "the ability to attract the best talent domestically and from everywhere else in the world and put it to work."