Veteran Google Researcher Joins ByteDance as AI Rivalry Intensifies

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A longtime Google researcher has joined TikTok owner ByteDance to help lead the Chinese company’s artificial intelligence research and development, in one of the Chinese tech giant’s most significant external hires of AI talent to date, according to two ByteDance employees with knowledge of the matter.

Wu Yonghui, a 17-year Google veteran who was a vice president and one of the key researchers in charge of the U.S. company’s Gemini models, recently started a new role at ByteDance, reporting to CEO Liang Rubo, making him one of the most senior leaders at the Chinese company, the two people said. Other direct reports of Liang include all of ByteDance’s top executives as well as TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.