Tencent poaches AI researcher from OpenAI

Tencent has hired AI researcher Shunyu Yao away from OpenAI, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter. At the Shenzhen-based tech giant, Yao is expected to work on integrating artificial intelligence into Tencent's existing services. Before joining Tencent, he spent time at Google and Princeton University, focusing his research on AI agents. Chinese media speculated that his compensation package could be worth more than 100 million yuan, roughly $14 million. Tencent dismissed the figure on its official WeChat channel, calling it a rumor, but didn't provide further details. Neither OpenAI nor Yao has commented. His departure comes during an intense race for AI talent, one that has recently escalated with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg offering payouts that reportedly reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars.