China’s AI and chip firms are handing out shares to keep their engineers

Cambricon will grant 600,000 shares to 124 core engineers—averaging 5.57 million yuan each—and 5 million shares to 944 staff, covering 85.3% of its workforce through 2028. AMEC’s plan reaches over 97% of its employees. Grants depend on performance targets such as Cambricon’s $14.8 billion revenue goal and supplement cash bonuses from firms like ByteDance and Tencent, which have raised salaries up to 150%. Europe tackles a 65,000-person semiconductor talent gap with training programs, while the United States relies mainly on high salaries.