A widely circulated screenshot showed an embodied intelligence company offering 10.5 million yuan in annual compensation for an AI algorithm expert, with a 26% headhunting fee producing a 2.73 million yuan placement charge. Peter, an employee at another subsidiary of the involved headhunting group, confirmed to 36Kr that the order exists but said the fee belongs to the company; after internal splits, an individual receives roughly 400,000 to 500,000 yuan. The episode reflects intense competition for a limited pool of AI researchers. OpenAI, Meta, Google and Anthropic are competing globally, while Meta reportedly offered researcher Matt Deitke about $250 million over four years and ByteDance's Top Seed program offers more than 6 million yuan annually for certain core roles. Despite AI's ability to automate resume screening, headhunters retain value by locating candidates who do not appear on public platforms. In Silicon Valley, forward-deployed engineers—technical specialists who implement AI directly with clients—are becoming a fast-growing role, combining engineering with consulting, communication and leadership. Job postings rose more than 1,000% year over year between January and August 2026 and more than 4,600% from 2023, while median advertised pay exceeded $188,000. AI tools are also widening differences among headhunters, favoring those who combine automation with deeper industry knowledge.