According to a study by Carnegie China, the distribution of top-tier AI researchers has shifted significantly. In 2025, China employed 41% of these global experts, while the United States accounted for 34%. This marks a reversal from 2022, when 46% of leading specialists worked in the US and 27% in China.
The research analyzed 10,280 scientists whose work was accepted by the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems. Local companies such as DeepSeek and Moonshot AI have become major employers, offering compensation packages competitive with American firms. Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin, who earned his degree in the US, is a notable example of this trend.
China has also strengthened its position as a primary source of talent. In 2025, 57% of AI researchers earned their bachelor's degrees at Chinese universities, an 11 percentage point increase compared to 2022. Furthermore, the retention rate of these graduates within China rose from 57% in 2022 to 69% last year.
The report notes that stricter US work visa policies and new Chinese regulations regarding the export of critical technologies have influenced migration patterns. Despite these shifts, the US remains the primary destination for Chinese graduates seeking international careers, with the share of Chinese researchers moving to the US increasing by 4 percentage points last year.
