China AI industry recruits teenagers to solve massive AI talent shortage

A 13-year-old boy from Hangzhou has made a name for himself in national AI competitions and built a following of more than 136,000 people online.

His father, who grew up before AI was a common field, finds himself studying alongside his son. Their experience, first reported by Rest of World, reflects the changing domain of China’s technology sector.

Chinese tech companies are now looking for talent earlier than ever, contacting undergraduates and even teenagers in hopes of finding skilled individuals before their competitors do.

The push comes as the country faces a growing shortage of AI professionals.

According to McKinsey, China could be short by 5 million AI workers by 2030, with demand far outpacing the number of qualified candidates. To address this, Tencent has launched camps for students aged 13 to 18, covering topics from AI product management to quantum computing.

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ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has also co-founded a research program that selects just 30 students each year for full-time training.

Geely has changed its hiring approach by recruiting high school students and training them in AI and electric vehicle technologies while they are still in school.

After finishing the program, these students are offered jobs with starting salaries on par with new college graduates.

MiniMax, a leading AI startup in China, says it does not hire high school students yet, but it no longer requires a university degree. The company now places more importance on curiosity along with natural ability than on formal education.

This shift isn’t unique to China. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, has said the company is now more open to hiring people without a bachelor’s degree.

As AI changes the job market, traditional requirements like degrees, age, and standard resumes are starting to matter less than practical skills and curiosity.