- Nio is recruiting top AI talent from global universities, focusing on physical world base models and enterprise-level intelligent systems.
- Nio CEO William Li previously said the company will increase its bet on AI in 2026 to boost product competitiveness and operational efficiency.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) is betting heavily on AI, officially launching the "Nio AGI Super Star Program" to recruit top AI talent globally.
The cutting-edge AI research and growth project is primarily aimed at current students, fresh graduates, and interns. Nio hopes to attract top global talent with experience publishing in top-tier conferences or possessing core research capabilities.
Initiated by Nio's newly established AGI committee, the program will allow selected candidates to engage in deep discussions with executives shaping the company's AI direction and integrate into top industry tech communities, according to a job advertisement on Friday.
Nio is offering the recruited AI talent cutting-edge research topics covering the entire technology chain. These areas include physical world base models, end-to-end smart driving assistance, and enterprise-level intelligent systems.
Nio is committed to bringing AI out of the virtual cyberspace to serve the real physical world, the company said.
Participants in the program will leverage massive amounts of driving data for large model pre-training and closed-loop data iteration.
For smart cabins, research topics focus on developing the NOMI personalized virtual partner based on persistent memory.
In addition, the open topics include Harness OS, where talent will participate in the research and development of SkyOS, a full-domain operating system for vehicles.
"SkyOS is a full-domain operating system for vehicles, serving as the infrastructure for automotive intelligence and digitalization. In the AI era, agents will be the primary application form onboard," Nio wrote.
The talent recruitment drive aligns closely with Nio's current strategic focus. Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li addressed the critical role of AI during an internal meeting in early 2026.
Li said on January 14 that Nio will significantly increase its bet on AI in 2026. He urged employees to deeply utilize AI to comprehensively enhance product competitiveness and operational efficiency across all businesses.
AI will not only be used in Nio's smart driving systems but will also empower research and development, manufacturing, and the supply chain, the Nio CEO told employees at the time.
Nio has established an AGI committee that will be responsible for driving the use of AI across its various business chains, he said at the time.
Prior to that internal speech, Li told media including CnEVPost in Hefei, Anhui province on January 6 that any auto company today, if it has any ambition, will undoubtedly be an AI company.
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