Zhang’s involvement in AI research at ByteDance was similar to the role Sergey Brin played at Google, according to local media
While Zhang has stayed out of the public limelight since handing over the chairman and CEO roles to co-founder and former college dorm roommate Liang Rubo in 2021, the 42-year-old Chinese entrepreneur still plays a critical role behind the scenes of ByteDance’s AI research, according to one source, who declined to be identified.
The source said that Zhang regularly travels from Singapore, where he is based, to Beijing, where some of ByteDance’s core AI researchers are located, to stay on top of the company’s research activities. Zhang, who Bloomberg ranks as China’s richest man with a net worth of US$57.5 billion, has regularly attended meetings with members of the firm’s core AI team since the second half of 2024, according to the source.
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