DeepSeek’s sudden rise to the top of the AI food chain has also put its CEO Liang Wenfeng and his unconventional leadership style in the spotlight, especially when it couldn’t be further from his American rivals such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
According to reports, Wenfeng loves hiring young people and gives preference to creativity rather than experience. Unlike his computer science-hungry competitors, Fortune reported that the 40-year-old DeepSeek founder is looking to hire Gen Z, bookworms, and humanities majors to spearhead his company.
“If you are pursuing short-term goals, it is right to find people with ready experience,” Liang told Chinese media outlet 36Kr in 2023. “But if you look at the long-term, experience is not that important. Basic skills, creativity, and passion are much more important.”
Explaining why work experience isn’t at the top of his list when hiring for DeepSeek, Liang said, “Having done a similar job before doesn’t mean you can do this job." He added that younger workers are more open to creative ideas and innovation than experienced AI experts.
“When doing something, experienced people will tell you without hesitation that you should do it one way,” Liang said. “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.”
The DeepSeek CEO has also been open about hiring bookworms for their engineering teams to help refine their AI models. “Everyone has their own unique journey and brings their own ideas with them, so there’s no need to push them,” he said.
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