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Struggling Huawei loses ‘Genius Youth’ recruit Peng Zhihui, dealing a fresh blow to tech giant’s talent acquisition drive

  • High-profile recruit Peng Zhihui has decided to leave Huawei, where his annual pay reportedly reached up to US$287,000, to pursue a new endeavour
  • His departure has put a dent in the sustainability of Huawei’s ‘Genius Youth’ programme, which rewards successful candidates with fat pay cheques

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A man walks past a board at a training centre inside Huawei Technologies Co’s headquarters in Shenzhen on May 31, 2019. The company had hired more than 300 recruits under its “Genius Youth” programme. Photo: Reuters
Ben Jiangin Beijing
When Huawei Technologies Co founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei initiated a programme known internally as “Top Minds” in 2019, just months after the company was blacklisted by the US government, he committed to write fat pay cheques to woo top talent to join the telecommunications equipment maker’s ranks and “energise the organisation”.
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That recruitment drive, later dubbed as the “Genius Youth” programme, gave priority to candidates whose research had produced “tangible and impactful” results, research papers or patents; those from top-notch laboratories or honours programmes; and winners of top international competition in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, according to the advertisement posted by Huawei on Weibo at the time.

Of the many skilled young talent recruited under the programme, Peng Zhihui emerged as the most high-profile hire. The 29-year-old wunderkind from Ji’an, a prefecture-level city in eastern Jiangxi province, joined in 2020 to work on artificial intelligence (AI) projects at Huawei’s computing division and became a viral sensation on Chinese social media for posting his inventions, including an Iron Man-inspired robotic arm and a self-driving bicycle.
But Peng, who reportedly drew an annual salary of up to 2 million yuan (US$287,000), on Tuesday announced on video-sharing platform Bilibili that he was leaving Huawei to start a new endeavour, dealing a fresh blow to the Shenzhen-based tech giant’s efforts to bolster its roster of talent amid its continuing struggles with US sanctions.
Peng Zhihui, a wunderkind in artificial intelligence, joined Huawei Technologies Co in 2020 through the company’s “Genius Youth” recruitment programme. Photo: Handout
Peng Zhihui, a wunderkind in artificial intelligence, joined Huawei Technologies Co in 2020 through the company’s “Genius Youth” recruitment programme. Photo: Handout

In his post, Peng – known as top influencer Zhihuijun on Bilibili – thanked his colleagues and Huawei, adding that he will “start a new cause to do something more challenging”.

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“Though there should be tactics in war, courage is fundamental,” Peng wrote in his post, citing a quote from ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi to suggest his passion for a new undertaking.

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