Former DeepSeek researcher Guo Daya joins ByteDance, which denies the news

According to domestic media reports, former DeepSeek researcher Guo Daya has joined ByteDance's large model research organization Seed as one of the leaders; his compensation includes cash, ByteDance options, and large model incentive Doubao stocks. Analysts estimate that if the Doubao stock price continues to rise, after four years when the Doubao stocks fully vest, Guo Daya's total earnings could reach several hundred million RMB (the same below), averaging nearly 100 million RMB per year. However, the total salary package must meet certain conditions to be fully obtained.

Li Liang, Vice President of Douyin under ByteDance, responded that the information is inaccurate, stating that the salary system for all Seed team technical personnel is the same, including cash, ByteDance options, and Doubao options, with the options fully vesting over four years, and there is no situation of "needing to meet certain conditions to receive the full amount." Recently, there have been no hires with annual salaries nearing 100 million RMB. The future earnings of Seed employees' ByteDance and Doubao options will fluctuate based on option prices, and if the business develops well, it is not ruled out that some Seed technical personnel may achieve earnings of several hundred million RMB after four years.

Guo Daya was a key author of several core models at DeepSeek, specializing in code intelligence and reasoning. He is a joint PhD graduate of Sun Yat-sen University and Microsoft Research Asia and has won several algorithm competition championships