The competition for top artificial intelligence talent in Silicon Valley is intensifying, and Microsoft is making bold moves to win the race. Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Google’s DeepMind and now head of Microsoft AI, has personally recruited more than two dozen former Google employees in recent months, most of them from DeepMind.
Instead of relying solely on large salary offers, Suleyman is using a different approach to attract top engineers. He is personally reaching out to potential hires and pitching Microsoft’s AI division as a lean and fast-moving operation with the energy of a startup. This pitch emphasises the freedom to work without heavy bureaucracy and the opportunity to quickly make an impact.
The hires include high-profile names such as Adam Sadovsky, a former distinguished engineer at DeepMind, and Amar Subramanya, previously Google’s vice president of engineering. Announcing his move earlier in July, Subramanya described the Microsoft AI culture as “refreshingly low ego yet bursting with ambition. It reminds me of the best parts of a startup — fast-moving, collaborative, and deeply focused on building truly innovative, state-of-the-art foundation models to drive delightful AI-powered products such as Microsoft Copilot.”
Many of the recruits are now working on consumer-facing products like Microsoft Copilot. Suleyman’s AI unit is based in Mountain View, California, away from Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, and operates as an independent hub of innovation. Reports suggest that CEO Satya Nadella has given Suleyman significant autonomy and a large budget to develop an AI powerhouse capable of competing with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
While Microsoft’s salary offers may not reach the highest levels seen at some competitors, they are still well above what DeepMind typically pays senior staff. Combined with the promise of speed, autonomy, and a meaningful role in shaping AI’s future, these incentives appear to be drawing some of the best talent from Google.
Two decades ago, Google was the upstart attracting Microsoft engineers with similar promises of innovation. Now, in the AI era, the roles have reversed, with Microsoft taking on the challenger’s position.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
Do Follow: The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News LinkedIn Account | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Facebook | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Youtube | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Twitter |The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Whatsapp Channel | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Instagram
About us:
The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News is a premier platform dedicated to delivering latest news, updates, and insights from the tech industry. With its strong foundation of intellectual property and thought leadership, the platform is well-positioned to stay ahead of the curve and lead conversations about how technology shapes our world. From its early days as CIO News to its rebranding as The Mainstream on November 28, 2024, it has been expanding its global reach, targeting key markets in the Middle East & Africa, ASEAN, the USA, and the UK. The Mainstream is a vision to put technology at the center of every conversation, inspiring professionals and organizations to embrace the future of tech.
