The fight for AI talent heats up in China, as tech employers boost pay
A scramble for artificial intelligence (AI) talent is intensifying in China, as local tech giants dangle eye-watering salaries to hire top-notch professionals to compete in a heated AI race.
Beijing-based smartphone giant Xiaomi will be hosting a special hiring session for AI experts in areas spanning AI models, computer vision, deep learning, autonomous driving and natural language processing, as well as other roles, according to a post published to its official WeChat account on Friday.
The company said it is providing a "fast track" for some jobseekers, who will be able to skip written tests and have their applications reviewed directly by the corresponding business department to speed up the hiring process.
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Xiaomi is just the latest in a long list of Chinese Big Tech firms rushing to boost their AI manpower, as they seek to catch up with US companies in the fast-developing field and capture emerging opportunities in the local market. TikTok owner ByteDance, search engine operator Baidu and food delivery giant Meituan have all been ramping up their hiring for AI roles.
That hiring spree corresponds to a surging demand for AI talent across China in the first half of this year, particularly for natural language processing (NLP) experts, who are highly sought after by both established companies and fledgling start-ups, according to a report from Peking University and recruitment platform Zhilian Zhaopin.
Demand for NLP talent jumped 111 per cent year on year in the January to June period, said the report, which looked at AI's impact on the Chinese job market. Those jobs fetched 24,007 yuan (US$3,350) in monthly pay on average, more than double the 11,000 yuan earned by an average IT worker in China.
Demand for deep-learning talent rose 61 per cent, with salaries averaging 26,279 yuan. Demand for engineers specialising in robotic algorithms climbed 76 per cent, while demand for roles focusing on smart-driving systems and navigation algorithms increased around 50 per cent.
The willingness of companies to shell out higher pay reflects the urgency of their recruitment efforts, and also the scarcity of top AI talent in China, according to the report.
Among top Chinese cities, Beijing is the most talent-hungry. The capital city, home to many educational institutions, tech research facilities and start-ups, accounted for one-fifth of AI-related jobs in the country, the report said.
Beijing, along with southern tech hub Shenzhen, eastern coastal financial centre Shanghai, southern port Guangzhou, and Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, made up the country's top five cities in AI development.
Such affluent regions, with their vibrant economies, have more resources to cultivate their AI industries, while China's poorer hinterlands risk being left behind, exacerbating their technology gaps, according to the report.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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