Exovera’s report, Western-Trained Topologists Serving China: Laurent Lafforgue, is the second in a series profiling Western-trained topologists working with Chinese institutions or companies. This installment examines Fields Medal–winning French mathematician Laurent Lafforgue, who left France’s Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES) in 2021 to join Huawei Technologies France after years of Huawei-funded collaboration. His research in topos theory and algebraic geometry now directly supports Huawei’s AI-focused initiatives.
The report highlights Lafforgue’s central role in building Huawei’s academic network in France, including his leadership of the Huawei Chair at IHES and participation in Huawei’s Young Talents program and Lagrange Center for Mathematical Computation. Lafforgue’s work, particularly on the Langlands Program and Grothendieck topology, is positioned as foundational to future advances in AI. His engagements in China, including a 2023 lecture at the Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, underscore the growing integration of high-level Western mathematical research into Chinese AI development efforts.
