Peking University ranked second worldwide for AI in 2026 CSRankings
Peking University has taken the No. 2 spot globally for artificial intelligence in the 2026 CSRankings, which evaluated 612 institutions based solely on research publications in leading venues. The results reinforce Asia's momentum in AI research output and signal a tightening race at the top.
CSRankings is publication-driven and department-focused. If your work is aimed at top-tier venues, this is the scoreboard many labs and deans are watching. You can review the methodology and field weighting on CSRankings.
Asia's share of the top 20
Asian universities dominate the AI top 20 with 15 entries, most of them from China. Southeast Asia places two: Nanyang Technological University at No. 8 and the National University of Singapore at No. 11.
Beyond AI, Tsinghua University ranks second worldwide for computer science overall in the 2026 CSRankings, trailing Carnegie Mellon University.
Why this matters for labs, departments, and R&D leaders
- Signals for collaboration: With 15 Asian institutions in the top 20 for AI, cross-border co-authorship and shared datasets will increasingly flow through China- and Singapore-based labs.
- Hiring and retention: Publication-weighted rankings reward groups that ship consistently to premier venues. Expect intensified recruiting for faculty and postdocs with strong publication pipelines.
- Student outcomes: Doctoral students positioned in these programs gain higher visibility and reviewer familiarity, improving their odds on committee-driven processes and top-tier acceptances.
- Strategic benchmarking: If you lead a center or institute, align internal KPIs with the venues tracked by CSRankings and set field-specific targets (e.g., vision, NLP, systems).
- Regional investment: The data backs sustained funding in Asia-based AI hubs-useful context for grant strategies and multi-institution proposals.
Talent flows are shifting toward China
Recent moves underscore the pull of new AI and biomed initiatives in China. Brain development and gene regulation researcher Gao Zhonghua has joined Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology (SUAT) after more than 20 years in the U.S. In computer vision, Liang Jie has left Canada to join a newly established Chinese university, bringing experience tied to widely used Microsoft technologies and AI sensor systems for elderly care.
These shifts matter: senior hires bring mature collaboration networks, attract competitive grants, and accelerate lab setup timelines.
Practical next steps
- Audit your group's publication map against CSRankings' tracked venues and subfields.
- Prioritize seminar exchanges and co-advised students with top-20 Asian labs, especially in China and Singapore.
- For trainees: build a submission plan across two to three flagship venues per subfield to sustain visibility.
For structured skill-building aligned to research output, see the AI Learning Path for Research Scientists.
Source: CSRankings (2026)
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