As Gemini is called US Doubao, Zhang Yiming lives as China's Brin
Tech giants are seeing a return of the founder mode as AI race heats up. Google co-founder Sergey Brin and ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming have both stepped back from daily management to directly dive into AI research and top-tier talent acquisition.
The Return of Founders
Faced with the paradigm shift of artificial intelligence, traditional corporate management structures struggle with long-term and high-uncertainty research cycles. This has driven the founder mode back into mainstream tech management. Google's Sergey Brin and ByteDance's Zhang Yiming have both re-engaged deeply with core technical teams to bypass bureaucratic inertia and accelerate decision-making.
Different Strategies, Same Goal
While both founders are heavily invested in AI, their tactical approaches differ. Brin emphasizes speed, putting in long hours at the Google office to push model evolution. Meanwhile, Zhang Yiming adopts a patient stance with ByteDance's Seed team, focusing on building solid fundamentals rather than rushing for quick fixes. Despite these tactical differences, both are locking horns with native AI powerhouses with a 2030 time horizon.
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