In the early months of 2025, Wu Yonghui, who served as the Vice President of Research at Google DeepMind, made the move to join ByteDance's Seed team. This move set off a chain reaction of internal structural adjustments within the company.

Following his arrival, the Seed business has shifted its focus towards foundational research. There have been alterations in reporting lines, and measures like the merger with the AI Lab have been implemented. These changes have made it more evident that Seed is on its way to becoming an "AI hub for the entire company".

Wu Yonghui has an impressive track record of technical accomplishments. The "Seed - Thinking - v1.5" model, which he led the development of, has demonstrated outstanding performance.

By the end of June, Seed successfully recruited a leader for its robotics business. Subsequently, it launched a new VLA model and the GR - 3, which are set to be applied in the robotics field.

ByteDance's integration of its AI business has resulted in a "trident" layout, with Seed specifically concentrating on model development.

Since the second half of 2024, Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance, has been actively involved in technical discussions and talent recruitment efforts for Seed.

In October, Wu Yonghui was officially appointed as the head of the Seed team. Under his leadership, ByteDance's AI research has placed a strong emphasis on "technical narratives".

The Seed team is known for offering generous benefits to its members. Although this has led to some dissatisfaction among other employees, it clearly highlights ByteDance's unwavering commitment to large - model development.

Zhang Yiming's decision to appoint Wu Yonghui reflects his vision and expectation for ByteDance to emerge as a leading technology company in the era of AI.