A star Chinese artificial intelligence researcher has left Anthropic to join a rival company, citing the US start-up’s “anti-China statements” as a key reason for his departure.
Yao Shunyu, according to a post on his website Monday, left Anthropic after less than a year to join Google Deepmind, in part because of his “strong” opposition to the startup’s characterization of China as an “adversary nation” and its broader rhetoric.
Anthropic called China out last month when it began banning subsidiaries of Chinese companies around the world from accessing its services.
“While, to be clear, I believe most people at Anthropic disagree with such (characterization), I don’t think there is any way for me to stay,” Yao wrote.
According to his CV, Yao earned a doctorate in theoretical and mathematical physics from Stanford University. He did his undergraduate studies at Tsinghua University, where he won the Presidential Prize and the Yeh Chi-Sun Prize, the highest awards for undergraduates at China’s elite institution.
