Moonshot AI Founder Yang Zhilin Rejected Apple to Start AI Company in China
Russ Salakhutdinov, the PhD advisor of Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin, revealed that Yang rejected multiple opportunities in the US, including a potential role at Apple, to return to China and start his own AI venture. This highlight underscores the trend of top-tier Chinese AI talent returning home to build domestic AI champions like Moonshot AI, which is now considered one of China's leading "AI Tigers." Salakhutdinov, a former Apple AI research director, had discussed Yang's potential recruitment with a top Apple executive, who even offered a position at Apple's Beijing office, but Yang remained determined to start his own company.
## BACKGROUND
Moonshot AI is a Beijing-based artificial intelligence startup founded in March 2023, widely known for its Kimi chatbot and large language models. Yang Zhilin, its founder, completed his PhD at Carnegie Mellon University under Russ Salakhutdinov, a prominent figure in deep learning and former VP of Research at Meta.