OpenAI keeps on poaching Google employees in the battle for AI talent
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- OpenAI hired at least 44 ex-Googlers this year to boost its AI talent pool, Business Insider found.
- About half are engineers, a BI analysis of LinkedIn profiles showed.
- The AI talent war is heating up, with Big Tech firms vying for top expertise.
The war for top AI talent is still in full swing as OpenAI continues to lure away droves of Google employees.
At least 44 former Googlers have jumped ship to the ChatGPT maker since the start of 2024, according to an analysis of LinkedIn profiles by Business Insider.
The group of OpenAI workers all have Google listed as their last employer on their LinkedIn profiles. BI found that half the employees who joined this year are engineers.
Over the past 18 months, the number of Googlers who have joined OpenAI rises to at least 85.
There seems to be a good reason why OpenAI might need their talents: Sam Altman's company is working on its own search engine, as The Information reported in February.
The Verge also reported last month that OpenAI has been attempting to lure away Google workers to help work on the search feature so it can be released soon.
Leading tech firms have been scrambling to secure top AI expertise in an ongoing talent war. OpenAI recruiters are trying to attract Googlers by offering large equity stakes in annual compensation packages ranging from $5 million to $10 million, The Information reported in November.
Big Tech CEOs have even been taking matters into their own hands to woo skilled AI workers.
One person with AI expertise previously told BI that Altman called them in a bid to convince them to join. Another tech worker said they received an email from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an email chain about a role they were being recruited for.
OpenAI isn't the only Big Tech firm winning over Googlers. Apple has also convinced at least 36 Googlers with AI expertise to jump ship since 2018, according to a recent Financial Times analysis of LinkedIn profiles.
OpenAI and Google didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
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