China overtakes US in top AI researchers, 41% to 34%

September 29, 2026 at 05:26 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

China employed 41% of the world's top AI researchers in 2025, surpassing the United States at 34%, according to Carnegie China. The shift reverses a 2022 gap when the US held 46% and China 27%. China also produced 57% of the world's AI bachelor's graduates last year.

Key Facts

China employed 41% of the world's top AI researchers in 2025, versus 34% in the United States.
In 2022, the United States employed 46% of top AI researchers, while China had 27%.
China produced 57% of the world's AI bachelor's graduates in 2025, up 11 percentage points from 2022.
The share of Chinese AI graduates staying in China rose from 57% in 2022 to 69% in 2025.
The study tracked 10,280 researchers whose papers were accepted by the Conference on Machine Learning and Neural Computation.

Researcher Distribution Shift

Carnegie China tracked the career activity of 10,280 leading AI researchers whose publications were accepted by the Conference on Machine Learning and Neural Computation. In 2025, 41% of these researchers worked in China, compared with 34% in the United States. In 2022, the United States employed 46% of top AI researchers, while China accounted for 27%. Chinese AI developers such as DeepSeek and Moonshot AI offer working conditions and pay comparable to American companies. Moonshot AI was founded by Yang Zhilin, who earned a degree in the United States before returning to China to build a career in AI.

Talent Production and Retention

China produced 57% of the world's AI bachelor's graduates in 2025, an increase of 11 percentage points from 2022. Only 13% of the tracked Chinese AI researchers received their education in the United States. The share of Chinese AI graduates remaining in China rose from 57% in 2022 to 69% in 2025. The study notes that stricter US work visa conditions and China's tightened controls on technology export may have influenced migration patterns. Among Chinese graduates seeking careers abroad, the United States remains the top destination, with the share of researchers moving from China to the US rising by 4 percentage points in 2025.