Microsoft Poaches Google's AI Brains to Save Its Copilot
In recent months, Microsoft has hired approximately two dozen employees from Google DeepMind, a research lab specializing in artificial intelligence (AI). The move is part of an effort to strengthen its own Microsoft AI division, which develops products such as the Copilot assistant and the Bing search engine. The new hires include prominent experts who bring extensive experience in developing advanced AI systems. For example, Amar Subramanya, who spent 16 years at Google and most recently served as vice president of engineering working on the Gemini assistant, joined Microsoft AI as a corporate vice president. He announced the move on his LinkedIn profile.
Another key addition is Adam Sadovsky, who spent nearly 18 years at Google, where he most recently served as a distinguished software engineer and senior director at DeepMind. He now holds the position of corporate vice president at Microsoft AI. The team has also been joined by Sonal Gupta, a former engineering lead at Google DeepMind, who now works as a member of the technical staff on Suleyman's team. Jonas Rothfuss, who spent a year as a research scientist at Google DeepMind, moved to Microsoft AI in May to take on a role as a member of the technical staff. All these moves confirm that Microsoft is deliberately recruiting talent directly from a competing lab.
Mustafa Suleyman's Role in Recruitment
This recruitment drive is being led by Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of the Microsoft AI division, who reports directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Suleyman is a co-founder of DeepMind, which Google acquired in 2014. In 2022, he left Google to lead the AI-focused startup Inflection, and last year he became an executive at Microsoft, bringing several Inflection employees with him. Today, DeepMind is led by another co-founder, Demis Hassabis. Suleyman's influence is clear—his familiarity with DeepMind helps him attract former colleagues to Microsoft, strengthening its competitive advantage in AI.
Competition in the AI Industry and Related Trends
This recruitment drive is not an isolated event; it reflects the war for talent in the technology sector. For example, Meta offered employees of the startup OpenAI signing bonuses of $100 million and succeeded in hiring Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. Google itself hired the CEO and other employees of the AI startup Windsurf in a $2.4 billion deal. Microsoft and Meta are both aggressively pursuing top AI talent directly from DeepMind, underscoring the strategic importance of experts in this field.
Interestingly, these recruitment activities are taking place alongside layoffs at Microsoft. The company recently announced that it would lay off approximately 9,000 employees, representing less than 4% of its global workforce. This move is intended to shift resources toward AI investments, showing how Microsoft is realigning its priorities. According to available reports, these layoffs make it possible to allocate funds to hiring top specialists, such as those from DeepMind.
Impact on Products Such as Copilot and Gemini
The newly hired experts are contributing to work on the consumer-focused Copilot assistant, which directly competes with Google's Gemini assistant. This battle between Microsoft and Google underscores how tech giants are seeking to dominate the AI landscape. For example, Amar Subramanya brings experience directly from the development of Gemini, which could help improve Copilot and Bing. Likewise, Adam Sadovsky and the other new hires add deep expertise from DeepMind research, strengthening Microsoft's position in this rapidly evolving field.
Overall, this recruitment drive shows how Microsoft is investing in human capital to keep pace with its competitors. With more than 24 AI researchers and engineers hired from DeepMind, this is expected to accelerate the development of new AI products. The trend continues as companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and Google constantly compete for the best minds in the industry, driving innovation forward.
