How Microsoft vs Google DeepMind talent war is also 'battle' between two CEOs who co-founded the company that is biggest name in AI

Microsoft has recruited more than 24 artificial intelligence employees from Google's DeepMind research division in recent months, marking the latest escalation in a talent war that has taken on deeply personal dimensions between two childhood friends who co-founded the AI lab that became the industry's most influential name.

Amar Subramanya, the former head of engineering for Google's Gemini chatbot, became the latest high-profile defection when he announced his appointment as corporate vice-president of AI at Microsoft on Tuesday. His move follows other senior DeepMind staff including engineering lead Sonal Gupta, software engineer Adam Sadovsky, and product manager Tim Frank, according to sources familiar with Microsoft's aggressive recruiting strategy.

The poaching campaign has intensified competition for top AI talent, with companies offering unprecedented compensation packages. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that Meta has offered his employees $100 million signing bonuses to switch sides, describing the behavior as "mercenary."

From London friends to Silicon Valley rivals
The recruitment battle carries unusual personal stakes because it pits two former DeepMind co-founders against each other. Mustafa Suleyman , who now leads Microsoft's consumer AI strategy, and Sir Demis Hassabis , who runs Google DeepMind, first met as teenagers in north London in the mid-1990s.

Despite an eight-year age gap, the pair—Suleyman, son of a taxi driver, and Hassabis, a chess prodigy—bonded over their shared interests. By 2010, they had co-founded DeepMind along with researcher Shane Legg. Google acquired the company for over $500 million in 2014, establishing it as the search giant's AI powerhouse.

Their relationship has grown complicated since Suleyman left Google in 2022 to start Inflection AI, which Microsoft effectively acquired last year in a $650 million "acqui-hire" deal that brought Suleyman and most staff to the Seattle-based company.

AI talent war heats up between former partners
The recruitment drive has created organizational upheaval at Google DeepMind, forcing internal reshuffles as the company struggles to retain key personnel. Internal Google data suggests the stakes are high, with ChatGPT commanding at least 600 million monthly users compared to Gemini's 400 million.

Hassabis, who won a chemistry Nobel Prize last year for AI-driven protein research, appears increasingly isolated from his former partner. While Suleyman describes their relationship as "friendly and respectful rivalry," Hassabis has been more dismissive, telling The New York Times that "most of what he has learned about AI comes from working with me."

Google maintains that DeepMind's attrition rates remain below industry averages and claims to have poached similar numbers from Microsoft, though the high-profile nature of recent defections suggests the talent war is far from over.

In a bigger picture, the recruitment battle reflects the broader arms race for AI talent, with companies offering extraordinary compensation packages. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently criticized Meta for encouraging "mercenary" behavior by offering $100 million sign-on bonuses to lure top developers from rivals.