Optics Valley Unveils Major AI Talent Recruitment Policy, Offering Up to ¥13.5 Million in Support

On March 31, Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone held a press conference to announce a Special Initiative for Attracting Major Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Entrepreneurship Teams (hereinafter referred to as the "Special Initiative"), officially launching its first exclusive talent policy for the AI sector. The new policy features three core highlights:  substantial financial support for teams, a collaborative government-enterprise policy formulation model, and a groundbreaking mechanism for talent evaluation. It introduces practical measures across three key dimensions — team support, housing and settlement guarantees, and recruitment incentives — the initiative aims to precisely attract high-caliber AI innovation and entrepreneurship teams, thereby injecting talent-driven momentum into Optics Valley's efforts to build a leading hub for artificial intelligence and construct a "World-Class Optics Valley."

Currently, Optics Valley has gathered over 800 AI enterprises, with the industry’s scale exceeding ¥60 billion. While a complete industrial chain has been established, the region still faces a structural mismatch between supply and demand for high-end AI talent. To address this challenge, the Special Initiative is closely aligned with industry needs, achieving breakthroughs in policy support, operational models, and evaluation criteria. The objective is to ensure that AI talent teams possessing both technical expertise and practicable application capabilities can thrive in Optics Valley without worries about their daily needs.

According to the reports, the new policy offers unprecedented levels of support; it is the first specialized policy of its kind in China’s AI sector -- and specifically the most generous in terms of support for talent teams. Team leaders can be directly recognized as “3551 Leading Talents” and may also nominate three core members as “3551 High-Level Talents.” Innovation teams are eligible to receive ¥5.5 million in funding support, while entrepreneurial teams, with additional sustained entrepreneurship support policies, can receive comprehensive support of up to ¥13.5 million. At the same time, a social talent referral incentive is established: qualified agencies that successfully introduce leading talents in the AI field can receive a reward of ¥100,000 per person, with a maximum of ¥1 million per agency annually.

This policy was developed using an innovative government-enterprise collaborative model, shifting from "government-driven" to "enterprise-driven." On Optics Valley Talent Day, the East Lake High-Tech Development Zone held a symposium to solicit "golden ideas" from the talent community; notably, a proposal from Mr. Bing Longzhi, Chairman of Wuhan Modal Leap Technology Co., Ltd., served as a key reference for policy formulation. Throughout the policy formulation process, the Zone fully absorbed suggestions from enterprises and talents, maintained close communication with AI companies, and dynamically optimized the plan, ensuring that the policy precisely aligns with industry needs and talent expectations.

In terms of talent evaluation criteria, the new policy breaks away from the traditional framework that emphasizes only papers, titles, degrees, and awards -- to prioritize capabilities, tangible achievements, and actual contributions. The criteria covers talent from academic, industrial, and ecosystem backgrounds, focusing not only on technical leaders from top international R&D institutions and core executives of high-growth AI companies, but also including benchmark talent in open-source communities and developers of hit products, opening a dedicated pathway for "prodigies, unconventional geniuses, and extraordinary talents" in the AI field. At the same time, the policy establishes data-driven evaluation criteria such as GitHub star counts and large language model token usage, and conducts comprehensive reviews based on core indicators including technological breakthroughs and industrial transformation, allowing outstanding teams to quickly qualify.

In terms of housing security, the new policy introduces a series of thoughtful measures; newly recruited “3551 Leading Talents” in AI who purchase a home in Optics Valley may receive a housing subsidy of up to ¥500,000 -- equivalent to 50% of the home’s purchase price. This subsidy is issued in the form of housing vouchers that can be directly applied toward the home purchase within a three-year period. Talents may also apply for the “Optics Valley Digital Talent Card,” which grants one-stop access to exclusive benefits in healthcare, transportation, cultural tourism, and more, comprehensively reducing the cost of living and development.

An official from East Lake High-Tech Development Zone stated that the core of this new policy lies in its "tangibility" — providing real financial support and thoughtful services to ensure that AI talent teams can settle down without worries and pursue innovation and entrepreneurship with confidence. Going forward, Optics Valley will fully promote the effective implementation of the policy, continuously optimize execution details, and transform policy dividends into industrial growth momentum. It sincerely invites leading AI talents and teams from around the world to establish themselves in Optics Valley, working together to build a new high ground for the development of the artificial intelligence industry.

Source: The official website of the People's Government of Hubei Province

The English version is for reference only. If there are differences between the English version and the Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.
https://www.hubei.gov.cn/zhuanti/2021zt/2021wsgg/2012ggmd/202603/t20260331_5903546.shtml