- Liang Wenfeng is the founder of AI lab DeepSeek, whose AI chatbot shook tech stocks this week.
- In a rare interview in 2023, he gave insight into his hiring strategy.
- “Experience is not that important” when aiming for long-term success, he said.
Liang Wenfeng, the founder of the Chinese AI lab DeepSeek, has an unusual take on hiring: favoring creativity over experience.
Liang rarely gives interviews, but he has come into the spotlight since DeepSeek startled the tech world with its cost-efficient AI models that appear to match the capabilities of US rivals despite using less advanced chips.
In 2023, the year he launched DeepSeek as an offshoot of his hedge fund, he gave an interview to 36KR, a Chinese tech publication, where he shared insight into his hiring strategy and why he doesn’t think “experience” guarantees long-term success.
Liang was asked whether he’d consider recruiting talent from overseas and possibly within the pool of employees at US AI giants like OpenAI and Facebook’s AI Research.
“If you are pursuing short-term goals, it is right to find people with ready experience, “he said. “But if you look at the long-term, experience is not that important. Basic skills, creativity, and passion are much more important. From this perspective, there are many suitable candidates in China.”
When asked why he didn't think experience was so important, he said, "Having done a similar job before doesn't mean you can do this job."
"Our core technical positions are mainly filled by fresh graduates or those who have graduated one or two years ago," he said.
He continued, "When doing something, experienced people will tell you without hesitation that you should do it one way. But inexperienced people will repeatedly explore and think seriously about how to do it, and then find a solution that suits the current actual situation."
"We will not deliberately avoid experienced people, but we look more at their ability," he added.
In a separate interview with Chinese media in July last year, Liang said his company's selection criteria "have always been passion and curiosity."
"So many people have some unique experiences, which are very interesting," he added. "And a lot of people thirst for the opportunity to do research — and that desire far exceeds their need for money."
Since the market's DeepSeek-induced sell-off on Monday, AI stocks such as Nvidia have steadied. DeepSeek has been a hot topic on earnings calls as tech companies, including Meta and Microsoft, face questions over their huge AI infrastructure investments in the face of DeepSeek's more efficient approach.
Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, said that his company would accelerate the release of "better models" in response to DeepSeek. On Wednesday, the company said it was reviewing whether DeepSeek "inappropriately" replicated "advanced US models."