Megvii scooped up the star research scientist from Microsoft in 2016, supercharging its efforts in deep learning

Sun’s death comes ahead of a planned IPO in Shanghai after US sanctions on Megvii upended plans to list in Hong Kong

Sun Jian, the 45-year-old chief scientist of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm Megvii Technology, died on Tuesday of a sudden illness, which the company did not specify.