April 8, 2025 – The rivalry among tech behemoths like Google, OpenAI, and others in the realm of artificial intelligence is intensifying, and retaining top – notch AI talent has emerged as a formidable challenge. Business Insider has revealed that Google’s AI division, DeepMind, has adopted an “aggressive” non – compete agreement to thwart employees from jumping ship to rivals.
Under this agreement, certain employees in the UK are barred from working for competitors for a year after leaving the company. During this period, DeepMind continues to pay their salaries, essentially granting them an extended paid sabbatical. However, this move has left some researchers feeling sidelined as they are unable to keep up with the rapid – pace developments in the AI industry.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a ban on most non – compete agreements last year, but this regulation does not extend to DeepMind’s London headquarters.
It’s worth noting that last month, Microsoft’s AI vice president posted on the X platform that DeepMind employees had reached out to him “desperately” for help in escaping the clutches of non – compete clauses.
In response, Google stated that it employs non – compete agreements “selectively”.
