Hardcore Recruitment! DeepSeek (深寻) Offers ¥30,000 Monthly to Guard Server Rooms on Inner Mongolia Grasslands

The offer

It has been reported that DeepSeek (深寻) is advertising monthly pay of about ¥30,000 to recruit staff willing to live on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and guard remote server rooms. The postings — circulated on social platforms and picked up by Chinese media — emphasize long shifts, isolated conditions and responsibility for on‑site equipment security and maintenance. Why the unusually high wage? Employers say the combination of remote location, tough living conditions and round‑the‑clock access requirements demands a premium.

Context: data centres, AI demand and security worries

For Western readers: Inner Mongolia and other northern provinces have become attractive for data centres because of abundant, relatively cheap power and naturally cooler climates that cut cooling costs. China's rush to build domestic compute capacity for AI — amid US export controls on advanced chips and broader tech tensions — has accelerated demand for new server farms in remote regions. It has been reported that operators are struggling to staff and secure these sites, prompting unconventional recruitment offers.

Why this matters

The recruitment drive comes as regulators and police push back on rising AI misuse. Reportedly, Chinese authorities have recently exposed several high‑profile AI “deepfake” fraud rings that used stolen personal data to impersonate victims and commit thefts. Those cases highlight the stakes: data centres and server rooms host the computing power and the datasets behind AI, and their physical security is an often‑overlooked link in the chain. Will large paychecks be enough to attract and retain the workforce needed to keep China’s expanding AI infrastructure both operational and secure? Authorities and industry still face that test.