# Nathan Chen leaves Moonshot AI, denies joining Anthropic

Digest AI · Business & Funding · published 2026-10-24T21:55:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/nathan-chen-leaves-moonshot-ai-denies-joining-anthropic

## Summary

Nathan Chen, a 17-year-old researcher, announced on October 15 that he has left Moonshot AI, the Beijing-based company behind the Kimi chatbot. Chen joined Moonshot at age 16 while in high school and contributed to the development of Kimi K3, a model that gained attention in Silicon Valley for competing with leading U.S. systems at lower costs. His work on "Attention Residuals" drew praise from Elon Musk and Andrej Karpathy.

Following his departure, speculation arose that Chen might join Anthropic, particularly after researcher Sholto Douglas invited him to San Francisco. Chen confirmed he would travel to the Bay Area but explicitly denied joining Anthropic on X. He had previously interned at Tilde Research in Palo Alto and is known for self-teaching AI concepts using research papers and Google's Gemini.

Chen’s move highlights the intense competition for AI talent between Chinese and U.S. firms. He has not confirmed his next steps, whether returning to university or continuing research. Colleagues at Moonshot expressed regret at his departure but supported his decision to explore new opportunities.

## Key points

- Nathan Chen left Moonshot AI on Oct. 15 after contributing to Kimi K3 development.
- Chen denied joining Anthropic on X, despite interest from U.S. researchers.
- He confirmed plans to travel to the San Francisco Bay Area.

## Why it matters

Chen's departure underscores the fierce global competition for top AI talent, particularly between Chinese labs like Moonshot and U.S. firms like Anthropic, highlighting the mobility of young researchers in the field.

## Sources

1. [Meet Nathan Chen, the 17-year-old Chinese AI prodigy turning heads in Silicon Valley](https://e.vnexpress.net/news/tech/personalities/meet-nathan-chen-the-17-year-old-chinese-ai-prodigy-turning-heads-in-silicon-valley-5134507.html) (e.vnexpress.net, 2026-10-24)

Part of the developing story: [AI Talent Wars Across Tech Giants](https://digestai.news/thread/chen-guangyu-reportedly-joins-jeff-dean-s-discovery-loop) (2 stories)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Nathan Chen leaves Moonshot AI, denies joining Anthropic", 24 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/nathan-chen-leaves-moonshot-ai-denies-joining-anthropic

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