OpenAl, Google and xAI battle for superstar AI researchers

The contest in Silicon Valley to dominate artificial intelligence (AI) is playing out on a new court: superstar researchers.

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While the scramble to attract top talent and keep them happy has always been a hallmark of the tech industry, since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, recruiting has escalated to professional athlete levels, a dozen people who have been involved in recruiting AI researchers told Reuters.

“The AI labs approach hiring like a game of chess,” said Ariel Herbert-Voss, chief executive officer (CEO) of cybersecurity startup RunSybil and a former OpenAI researcher who entered the talent fight after launching his own company. “They want to move as fast as possible, so they are willing to pay a lot for candidates with specialized and complementary expertise, much like the game pieces. They are like, do I have enough rooks? Enough knights?”

Companies including OpenAI and Google, eager to get or stay ahead in the race to create the best AI models, court these so-called “ICs” — the individual contributors whose work can make or break companies.

Noam Brown, one of the researchers behind OpenAI’s recent AI breakthroughs in complex math and science reasoning, said when he explored job opportunities in 2023, he found himself being courted by tech’s elite: lunch with Google founder Sergey Brin, poker at Sam Altman’s, and a private jet visit from an eager investor. Elon Musk will also make calls to close candidates for xAI, his AI company, said two people who have spoken to him. xAI did not respond to a request for comment.