Ex-OpenAI Researcher Yao Shunyu Joins Tencent to Lead China’s AGI Push

A former OpenAI researcher who recently joined Tencent as its Chief AI Scientist has outlined an ambitious vision for developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) in China. His appointment reflects China's increasing efforts not only to compete with the United States in AI development but also to attract top talent from leading Silicon Valley companies.

Yao Shunyu, who joined Tencent last year after leaving OpenAI, said he hopes to establish a long-term organisation dedicated to pursuing AGI in China.  

AGI refers to artificial intelligence systems capable of performing intellectual tasks at a level comparable to or beyond that of humans, a goal that has long been the goal of companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepMind.

“My personal goal is that in China we should establish a long-term AGI organisation,” Yao Shunyu was quoted as saying by CNBC. Speaking alongside Tencent Cloud executive Dowson Tong at a company event in Beijing, Yao addressed the next phase of AI development.

He said achieving such a breakthrough would require investment in foundational research, product development and frontier exploration. The event, which was co-hosted with local authorities, also featured participation from senior Beijing officials.

“I don't think ChatGPT or Claude will be the only super-app,” he added. During the discussion, Yao argued that the future AI market remains largely untapped and could be worth trillions of dollars. According to him, future success will depend on creating high-performing AI systems that are also cost-effective.

Yao also suggested that China's competitive advantage may lie in developing smaller, more efficient AI models capable of consistently handling everyday tasks.

His optimistic outlook comes at a time when some US AI companies are expressing growing concern about the rapid pace of technological advancement. Anthropic recently warned that advanced AI models were approaching a stage where they may be capable of improving themselves without human oversight.

Competition for AI talent has become another important aspect of the rivalry. Uncertainty surrounding immigration policies in the United States has encouraged some Chinese researchers working abroad to return home. Beijing has also ramped up investment to attract talent and spend more on basic research as part of its technological strategy.

Several prominent AI researchers have recently moved from leading Western technology companies to Chinese firms. Reports indicate that Alibaba recruited former Google DeepMind researcher Hao Zhou to contribute to the development of its Qwen AI models. Similarly, Wu Yonghui, previously a research vice president at Google DeepMind, left California to lead research initiatives at ByteDance Seed in early 2025.