Recruitment of AI researchers grabs attention in US

The contest in Silicon Valley to dominate artificial intelligence 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 Al researchers told Reuters.

"The Al labs approach hiring like a game of chess," said Ariel Herbert-Voss, CEO of cybersecurity startup RunSybil and a former OpenAl 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 OpenAl and Google, eager to get or stay ahead in the race to create the best Al models, court these so-called "ICs" - the individual contributors whose work can make or break companies.