Microsoft has hired more than 20 artificial intelligence pros from Google’s DeepMind unit in the past six months, intensifying Silicon Valley’s escalating race for elite AI talent.
The recruitment wave includes Amar Subramanya, former head of engineering for Google’s Gemini chatbot, who announced his move to Microsoft this week in a LinkedIn post. “The culture here is refreshingly low ego yet bursting with ambition,” Subramanya wrote, confirming his appointment as corporate vice-president of AI.
He joins a growing cohort of former Google DeepMind staff now embedded within Microsoft’s AI division, including engineering lead Sonal Gupta, software engineer Adam Sadovsky, and product manager Tim Frank.
According to people familiar with the matter, Microsoft has attracted at least 24 AI specialists from DeepMind alone since early 2025.
The move is part of a strategic talent push by Microsoft as Big Tech groups race to outpace each other in the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and commercial AI applications.
Microsoft recruits AI talent with attractive compensation
Microsoft’s recruiting spree is part of a strategy led by Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, who joined Microsoft in March after the company acquired most of the staff and IP from his AI startup Inflection for $650 million.
The fierce battle for AI talent has pushed salaries for elite engineers and scientists into the stratosphere. Recent reports estimate that top AI researchers now command total compensation packages upwards of $10 million to $20 million annually, comparable to star athletes and hedge fund managers.
In a public spat earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman criticized Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for encouraging “mercenary” hiring practices after the Facebook parent offered $100 million sign-on bonuses to lure developers from rival labs.
Subramanya’s departure, alongside fellow Gemini engineering co-lead Mat Velloso, who has since joined Meta, has prompted a leadership reshuffle within Google’s AI operations.
The company is now under pressure to retain top-tier engineers as it continues to trail OpenAI and Anthropic in public adoption of its Gemini model, which lags behind ChatGPT’s hundreds of millions of monthly users, according to recent court filings.
Google responds, but concerns linger
In response to Microsoft’s aggressive hiring, Google maintains that DeepMind’s attrition rates remain below the industry average and claims to have recruited a comparable number of AI staff from rivals.
However, the company has also taken steps to stem the outflow. According to a recent Business Insider report, DeepMind has quietly implemented stricter non-compete clauses for key AI staff, in some cases restricting employees from joining competitors for up to 12 months after departure.
Critics argue such measures may prove legally flawed under U.S. labor laws, especially in California, where non-compete clauses are not enforceable. Also, critics argue that it could hamper collaboration in the research community.
With Suleyman now in charge of Microsoft’s AI for consumer products, the company is betting heavily on its ability to outbuild Google and Meta in the next wave of smart assistants, productivity tools, and health applications.
Google, while still dominant in search and advertising, faces a growing perception that it has stumbled in translating its foundational research into breakthrough products. The growing exodus of talent to Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI may signal deeper concerns about culture, vision, or agility inside Google’s AI ranks.
