Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleiman told the Bloomberg Podcast that the company doesn't intend to compete with tech giants like Meta by offering top dollar for talent.
“I don't think anyone can match this,” Suleiman said of the $100 million signing bonus Meta is offering its engineers and the $250 million package it's using to attract top AI researchers.
“I think Zach has taken a particular approach, probably hiring a lot of individuals rather than building a team, and I really don't think that's the right approach,” he said.
Suleiman said that when he previously worked at DeepMind, he was “very selective” about new hires. He said Microsoft hires “gradually,” prioritizing candidates who fit the team's culture and have the right skills, and fires those who don't.
In Silicon Valley, top AI talent is earning millions in compensation.
In June, Meta made a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI. The deal is widely seen as a takeover of the company's CEO, Alexandr Wang. Google made a similar move, acquiring the leader in AI coding platform Windsurf. In a deal worth $2.4 billion. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Meta tried to lure employees away with a $100 million contract, but Meta's chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth later said OpenAI offered the same amount.
Sean Thorne, managing director of executive search firm True Search, previously told Business Insider.
Suleiman said “rotation” is part of the industry given the small talent pool. As an example, he cited Microsoft's corporate vice president of AI, Amar Subramanya, who left for Apple earlier this month.
Microsoft recently hired several new employees from DeepMind and OpenAI, he said.
“Certainly there are no 'no-poaching' agreements. That would be illegal,” he added. “People can work for whoever they want to work for.”
