ByteDance Denies Report of 100 Million Yuan Offer to Seed Team Engineer

According to Yicai, ByteDance Vice President Li Liang denied claims that former DeepSeek researcher Guo Daya was offered nearly 100 million yuan, saying Seed team pay follows a standard compensation structure.

Summary

ByteDance Vice President Li Liang denied rumors that the company hired former DeepSeek researcher Guo Daya with a compensation package worth nearly 100 million yuan, according to Yicai. Li said technical staff on ByteDance’s Seed team follow a uniform pay structure rather than individually negotiated outsized offers. He stated that compensation consists of cash, ByteDance options, and Doubao options, with the equity components subject to a four-year vesting schedule.

Terms & Concepts
  • Vesting: A schedule that determines when stock or token-linked compensation becomes fully owned by an employee over time.
  • Options: A form of compensation that gives employees the right to benefit from future value increases in company equity under set terms.