The surge in artificial intelligence (AI) startups is intensifying the competition for technical talent in Europe, forcing companies such as Google DeepMind to navigate between offering higher salaries and retaining the best minds in the region.
The success of OpenAI's ChatGPT has spurred increased investment in promising AI startups, prompting a wave of foreign AI firms like Cohere from Canada and Anthropic and OpenAI from the U.S. to establish offices in Europe. This has added pressure on tech companies already grappling with attracting and retaining talent in the region.
Established in 2010 and acquired by Google in 2014, DeepMind, based in London, is now facing well-funded competitors encroaching on its domain, with a growing number of its employees leaving to launch their own ventures.
Notable exits include co-founder Mustafa Suleyman and research scientist Arthur Mensch, who founded Inflection AI and Mistral AI, respectively, both achieving multi-billion dollar valuations shortly after their inception.
In an attempt to discourage staff from joining other companies or starting their own, DeepMind reportedly granted a select group of senior researchers access to restricted stock, valued at millions of dollars, earlier this year.
"It's a competitive space for sure," acknowledged a DeepMind spokesperson, adding that the company "continues to do well in attracting and nurturing talent."
To remain competitive, there has been a substantial increase in pay for C-suite staff at AI companies in Britain, according to executive search firm Avery Fairbank. Foreign AI giants entering the London market, such as Anthropic and Cohere, are expected to further escalate the competition for AI talent.
Cohere, specializing in designing in-house chatbots and tools, attracted Phil Blunsom, a lead researcher at DeepMind for seven years, as its chief scientist in 2022. The intense competition has led to significant salary increases, with executives seeing pay packets jump between £50,000 and £100,000.
With the talent war in full swing, startups like ElevenLabs and Bioptimus, founded by former DeepMind staff, are offering attractive packages, including stock options, generous salaries, and remote working options, to entice top talent.
The expanding influence of startups is seen as a unique opportunity for talent from big tech firms like Google to have a more significant impact on a company's direction.
Paraphrasing text from "The Star" all rights reserved by the original author.
