DeepMind AI staff reportedly tied to Google with “aggressive” noncompete clause — Preventing them from joining rivals like Microsoft but offering year-long PTO

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Instead of what many believe and as technology progresses, it’s clearer now that AI with a generative capacity might actually generate jobs instead of taking them away from humans. As this field grows and reaches new peaks, it’s proving to be more profitable. For instance, companies like Microsoft are paying their AI team members high salaries compared to those working in the Azure division.

Microsoft, commonly known as the Redmond giant, offers an average salary of up to $377,611 to its AI software engineers, a figure that’s approximately $120,000 higher than the average wage for employees working within the Azure division.

It appears that Google is employing an innovative strategy to keep its AI specialists within the company, offering them up to a year of salary without work obligations to discourage them from moving to competing AI research centers.

As a devoted follower, I’ve learned that Google DeepMind employs robust noncompete clauses in contracts to restrict their AI team members from moving to competing AI companies for approximately a year, as per a report by Business Insider.

On certain occasions, Artificial Intelligence workers might find themselves facing excessively lengthy periods of paid time off (PTO). Although this could lead to an increase in their savings with minimal work, over time, it may negatively impact their job satisfaction, particularly given the rapidly changing nature of AI technology.

According to informed sources about Google DeepMind’s internal workings, certain aspects are taken into account when imposing noncompete agreements on AI team members, such as their level of experience within the organization and the significance of their contributions towards DeepMind’s artificial intelligence projects.

While speaking to Business Insider about the issue, a Google spokesperson indicated:

In keeping with industry norms, our job contracts are structured accordingly. Since the work we do is confidential, we occasionally employ non-competition agreements to safeguard our business interests.

It’s worth noting that although Google characterizes its method as a common approach, Microsoft AI Vice President, Nando de Freitas, revealed that some Deepmind employees had contacted him in distress. This suggests that Google’s strict noncompete agreements may have left these individuals with limited options but to stay at the company.

Hello GoogDeepMind team members,

Firstly, congratulations on your latest groundbreaking models! I’ve noticed that once a week, one of you contacts me in distress, wondering how to bypass notice periods and noncompete clauses. Additionally, some of you approach me for job opportunities because your supervisor has suggested this is the path to career advancement, however…
March 26, 2025

It’s important to mention that the enforceability of noncompete clauses can differ from state to state in the U.S., with California being one such example where they are generally not upheld due to its housing a number of significant tech companies like Google.

In simple terms, a law enacted in 2023 broadened California’s restrictions, preventing the application of noncompete agreements that were formed outside the state.

In contrast, noncompete agreements don’t face the same restrictions in countries like the UK, where Google DeepMind is based. British law permits the enforcing of such clauses as long as they are deemed fair and aimed at safeguarding a company’s business objectives and activities.

The former DeepMind employee implied, “Who would like to hire you for a position that starts a year from now?”, suggesting a long-term commitment in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

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2025-04-08 12:39