China's AI chip investment cools as engineer salaries keep rising
Overview
Chinese AI chip investment has started to cool in the second half of 2026, while salaries for chip engineers continue to climb, according to Leiphone (雷峰网).
A senior investor says AI, computing power and related chips and infrastructure were the sectors that heated up in 2026, while many non-AI semiconductor assets cooled. Recruiters say two-year NPU engineers can earn around 700,000 yuan and three-year engineers around 900,000 yuan.
Written by AI from the articles below · updated Nov 11, 12:27 AM ET
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- LeiphoneNewsChina's AI chip startup boom cools as talent salaries keep rising
AIChinese AI chip investment has started to cool in the second half of 2026, while engineering talent salaries continue to climb. A senior investor says AI, computing power and related chips and infrastructure were the sectors that heated up in 2026, while many non-AI semiconductor assets cooled. Two-year NPU engineers can earn around 700,000 yuan, and three-year engineers around 900,000 yuan, according to recruiters.
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