- Microsoft is opening a new AI division in London, home of Google's DeepMind.
- The new hub will be the stage for a fierce competition for talent between the two companies.
- Google is trying to stop the talent drain. Maybe I need to try harder now.
Microsoft is opening a new AI division in London, putting it firmly on the turf of its biggest AI rival, Google DeepMind.
The announcement comes just weeks after Microsoft hired DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman to run its new AI division. Suleiman said in a blog post published on Monday that the new division in London will be led by former DeepMind researcher Jordan Huffman.
Microsoft already has an office in the UK capital and has previously pledged to invest £2.5bn in UK data centers over the next three years. But the fact that this new hub is entirely AI-focused and run by the former DeepMinder should give Google plenty of reason to worry. Expanding its presence in London could be a smart move for Microsoft in the battle for AI talent.
“There is a huge pool of AI talent and expertise in the UK, and Microsoft AI will be making significant long-term investment in the region as we begin hiring the best AI scientists and engineers for this new AI hub. ,” Suleiman wrote. In an announcement on Monday.
Founded in 2010 and acquired by Google in 2014, DeepMind has long been considered the crown jewel of the UK AI scene. It's also an increasingly important asset for Google, which has allowed its AI subsidiaries to operate independently for years.
Last year, in response to growing pressure from rivals such as OpenAI, Google merged DeepMind with its core AI division, Brain, to form the new Google DeepMind.
Google DeepMind, which has more than 2,000 employees, is leading the development of Gemini, the company's answer to OpenAI's GPT-4 large-scale language model, which has become a key part of Google's artificial intelligence strategy. Masu.
But while rivals like Meta and Microsoft seek to shore up their artificial intelligence divisions with more resources and talent, reports of a $10 million pay packet could tempt Google's prized researchers away. I'm trying to pull some out. Meta itself recently lost three of its top AI employees, while Google has been steadily losing employees to his OpenAI over the past year.
Alex Libre, co-founder and lead recruiter at Einstellen Talent, recently told BI's Aaron Mok that startups are spending more money on early-stage hires to compete with Big Tech job openings. He said that he has started paying the amount.
Google DeepMind is trying to retain talent by offering some employees higher compensation packages, according to people familiar with the matter. In one case, Google co-founder Sergey Brin called a DeepMind researcher who was preparing to leave OpenAI and persuaded him to stay.
As Big Tech's AI arms race for talent continues to intensify, Google may need to do more to stem the bleeding.
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