DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based AI startup, has posted 10 job openings on LinkedIn. This marks the company’s first listings on the platform in several months.

The positions are advertised in Mandarin and focus on artificial general intelligence (AGI). They are based in Beijing and Hangzhou.

This development may indicate an effort to attract international talent.

LinkedIn’s localized version in China ceased operations in 2021. Consequently, many candidates viewing these listings could be located outside of China.

DeepSeek did not respond to requests for comment regarding this recruitment initiative.

Earlier this year, the company posted similar job openings on domestic Chinese recruitment websites.

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🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ China’s significant AI talent gap drives international recruitment

DeepSeek’s LinkedIn strategy reflects a broader challenge facing Chinese AI companies: a severe talent shortage in the domestic market.

China has approximately 39,000 AI researchers compared to more than 78,000 in the United States, creating a significant competitive disadvantage despite the country’s ambitious AI goals 1.

This talent disparity helps explain why DeepSeek would post jobs on LinkedIn, which shuttered its localized Chinese version in 2021, suggesting they’re specifically targeting international talent pools.

The talent migration patterns in AI are heavily imbalanced, with research showing 31% of AI leaders moved from the US to China while only 5% moved in the opposite direction, indicating Chinese companies must work harder to attract foreign expertise 1.

This recruitment approach aligns with China’s national ambition to build a $150 billion AI industry by 2030, a goal that requires substantially expanding the available talent pool beyond domestic resources 2.

2️⃣ LinkedIn’s China exit creates recruitment challenges and opportunities

DeepSeek’s use of LinkedIn for recruitment is particularly notable given the platform’s complicated history in China.

LinkedIn officially exited the Chinese market in October 2021 due to increasing regulatory challenges and compliance requirements, closing a rare channel for cross-border professional networking 3.

This departure created significant obstacles for international hiring strategies for companies seeking to recruit between China and global markets, forcing companies to develop alternative approaches 4.

By posting in Mandarin on LinkedIn, DeepSeek appears to be targeting Chinese professionals currently working abroad, a strategic move to capitalize on LinkedIn’s continued popularity among Chinese expatriates and international professionals with Chinese language skills.

The absence of LinkedIn as a formal recruitment platform in China has led to market fragmentation, with local alternatives like Maimai and BOSS Zhipin gaining strength but lacking LinkedIn’s global reach 5.

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