- Apple has attracted 36 Googlers with AI expertise since 2018, the Financial Times reported.
- It’s part of a broader war for talent among big tech companies looking to bolster their AI capabilities.
- The battle could intensify when Microsoft opens an AI hub on Google DeepMind’s grounds in London.
Apple has convinced at least 36 Googlers with AI expertise to jump ship since 2018, according to a Financial Times analysis of LinkedIn profiles.
An Apple research paper on large multimodal language models published last month lists six authors who were former Google employees and had been hired within the past two years, the report said.
According to Business Insider, nine of the 31 authors listed in the research paper had Google listed as their last employer on their LinkedIn profile, and two authors were from Microsoft.
The discovery comes amid a broader war for AI talent among big tech companies looking to bolster their capabilities.
Google managed to convince former OpenAI developer relations manager Logan Kilpatrick to join its ranks this month.
An AI worker previously told BI that he received a call from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to persuade him to join the company behind ChatGPT. He accepted the offer.
Even Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tried to poach Google’s AI researchers by sending them personal emails, The Information reported last month.
Some top Microsoft executives have also left to join other companies in AI-focused roles, Fortune recently reported. Among them is former executive Gurdeep Singh Pall, who became president of AI at software management company Qualtrics earlier this month.
The battle for AI expertise could further intensify as Microsoft recently revealed plans to create an AI center on Google’s Deep Mind grounds in London. Its objective is to soon hire “exceptional individuals”.
It’s not just big tech companies competing for AI talent. Even startups are trying to acquire expertise that will help them grow.
New Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman told the FT last month: “It’s hyper-competitive on both ends of the spectrum. At the small start-up scale, everyone is on fire in terms of creativity. the big end, everyone is competing against it too, I think it’s just a fiercely competitive time to work in tech.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside of normal business hours.
Are you a technical worker with ideas to share? Contact this journalist at jmann@businessinsider.com
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