The rise of DeepSeek marks a milestone in China's artificial intelligence development, transitioning AI technology from scaling to refi ned and intrinsic innovation, while its open-source ecosystem encourages equal access to AI and exerts a leading and compelling effect on the entire industry. The infl uence of AI innovation extends beyond technical breakthroughs to the ideational and methodological shifts it engenders, which is profound and irreversible concerning the demand for innovative talent and the impacts on national talent cultivation concepts and models. This study analyzes the changes in talent demand in China's employment market triggered by the transformations in the AI fi eld brought about by DeepSeek, as well as the new challenges facing the supply side. From the demand side, there is a signifi cant rise in demand for high-end technical talents, an increasing necessity for versatile talents, and an "accelerated replacement" of mid-skilled workers, signifying an intensifi ed trend of "skill structure polarization" overall. On the supply side, challenges include an insuffi cient total supply of AI talent, a disconnection between talent cultivation and market needs, difficulties in cultivating versatile talents, and uneven distribution of talent supply across regions. This research suggests a comprehensive response to the new challenges in talent supply to cultivate more high-quality versatile talents that meet the demands of new productive forces.