The founder of the fastest-growing Neolab shares his thoughts on the war for AI talent.
Karina Hong, founder of Axiom Math, a startup focused on building AI mathematicians, told Business Insider’s Ben Bergman on Business Insider’s The Long Play on Tuesday that she thinks some researchers see advantages to working at Neolabs over large tech companies.
“We’ve got some really great talent from Big Tech. They’re industry veterans,” Hong said. “They’re a little tired of the PSC culture and all the politics at the big shops, and they want to work somewhere where they don’t have job security because it’s a start-up, but they’re guaranteed direction in their studies.”
“When you’re in a large lab and the direction of your research changes on a monthly, if not weekly, basis, that’s really a different kind of security that they’re pursuing,” Hong added. “You want to work somewhere where you know what you’re working on will still have an impact two months from now.”
From startups like OpenAI to big tech companies like Meta, AI-focused companies are offering big salaries to AI talent.
Axiom Math develops advanced AI systems that can not only solve complex mathematical problems, but also generate step-by-step proofs and verify unique inferences, Hong said. She told Bergman that the broader goal could be to use mathematical reasoning as the foundation for more powerful AI, enabling applications in areas such as software verification, finance, and cryptography.
Axiom Math is only a year old, but it’s part of a new class of startups known as “neolabs” that are gaining traction across the AI sector, especially in hubs like San Francisco. These companies are typically small, fast-moving teams building AI-native products from day one, often with fewer employees, mixed office space, and significantly lower operating costs than traditional startups. As of March 2026, Axiom Math is valued at $1.6 billion.