AI industry workers in China are increasingly worried about their safety following the deaths of several leading researchers, according to a report by SCMP.
Scientist Liu Shaoshan highlighted that although experts receive substantial salaries, they are under significant pressure.
“The industry is developing too quickly, and the competition is very intense,” he noted.
The publication compiled a list of prominent AI researchers who died at a relatively young age. They were “in their prime” and made breakthroughs in fields such as computer vision, military, and medical artificial intelligence.
2022
Sun Jian
In June 2022, Sun Jian, the chief scientist of Beijing-based Megvii Technology, passed away at the age of 45 from a sudden illness. The company develops image recognition and deep learning software.
Jian was a well-known figure in the field of artificial intelligence. He worked at Microsoft and joined the startup Megvii in 2016 as chief scientist and managing director of research.
2023
Feng Yanghe
In July 2023, Feng Yanghe, an AI expert for China’s defense sector, died in Beijing at the age of 38 while on his way to an “important mission.” He was an associate professor at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) and conducted research in military games.
Yanghe was one of the creators of military simulator software. He led teams developing AI systems War Skull I and War Skull II, used by the People’s Liberation Army for military game simulators during joint operations.
Before joining NUDT, Yanghe studied statistics at Harvard University and high-performance computing at the University of Iowa from 2011 to 2013 as part of a joint program.
Tang Xiao’ou
In 2023, Tang Xiao’ou, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, founder of tech giant SenseTime, and AI expert, died at the age of 55 after an undisclosed illness.
Xiao’ou was born in 1968 in Liaoning Province, northeastern China. In 1990, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of China in Anhui Province, then moved to the United States for graduate studies.
In 1991, the researcher obtained a master’s degree from the University of Rochester, and in 1996, a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Xiao’ou’s scientific interests included computer vision, pattern recognition, and video processing. He contributed to the industrialization of computer vision technology in China.
From 2005 to 2008, he led the visual computing group at Microsoft Research Asia. In 2014, he founded SenseTime, known as one of the “four Chinese AI dragons.”
SenseTime’s technology allows for real-time facial recognition from various angles. In some cities, these tools are used to monitor crowd density and detect illegally parked vehicles.
2024
He Zhi
He Zhi, co-founder and chief innovation officer of Yidu Tech, died in 2024 at the age of 41. He was a “remarkable pioneer” leading the digitalization of the healthcare industry.
While in Qinghai Province, northwestern China, he succumbed to altitude sickness, resulting in respiratory and cardiac arrest.
In 2000, Zhi enrolled in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Tsinghua University. In 2009, he earned a master’s degree in electronic communications and engineering.
From 2012 to 2014, he worked at Chinese tech giant Alibaba.
In 2015, he joined Yidu Tech as a co-founder, responsible for the company’s innovation and technological development. The Beijing-based firm develops healthcare solutions using big data and AI technologies.
2025
Quan Yuhui
Quan Yuhui, an expert in computer image processing and associate professor at the School of Computer Science and Engineering at South China University of Technology (SCUT), died on January 14, 2025, after a prolonged illness. He was 39 years old.
Quan was born in 1985. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at SCUT, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2008 and a PhD in 2013.
He led several national and regional research projects, published over 80 high-quality scientific papers, and regularly served as a reviewer for prestigious international journals and conferences.
In 2024, Yuhui was included in Stanford University’s list of the “top 2% of scientists in the world.”
In March 2025, employees of the AI lab DeepSeek had their passports confiscated and were banned from traveling abroad freely.