Recently, the visual large model team at ByteDance has undergone a significant personnel change. The team leader Yang Jianchao announced internally that he would "take a temporary break," and Zhou Chang will take over. This decision has not only attracted attention within ByteDance but also sparked discussions outside the company about the stability of its future technology roadmap.
In his announcement, Yang Jianchao mentioned that the main reasons for taking a break are family factors and work pressure. His health and family life have clearly become important considerations for him. Although he will temporarily step down from his position, his related work can still be accessed within ByteDance's internal system, which means his contributions to the team can continue.
Zhou Chang, who will succeed Yang Jianchao, previously served as the technical lead for the large model at Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen. Zhou joined ByteDance in July 2025 and entered the Seed team, which is responsible for research on visual models. The Seed team's work covers a wide range, including image and video generation as well as fundamental research, with team members located in cities across North America, Singapore, and China.
This personnel change comes during a period of overall adjustment in ByteDance's AI department. Recent high-level changes have raised concerns outside the company about its technology roadmap. Despite this, ByteDance stated that it will continue to make long-term investments in basic research to ensure the stability and development of the team.
In the context of rapid development in the artificial intelligence industry, changes in leadership may affect team operations. ByteDance said that it will maintain its focus on technological innovation and look forward to Zhou Chang bringing new energy to the direction of visual multimodal generation.
ByteDance's recent personnel adjustment shows us the changes and challenges in the industry, reminding us that while pursuing technological progress, we should also pay attention to the physical and mental health of team members and the balance between work and life.
