Thought Leadership
Google is apparently taking unusual measures to keep top employees in the highly competitive AI market away from the competition. As Business Insider reports, the company is imposing “aggressive” non-compete clauses on selected employees from its AI division DeepMind.
These prohibit switching to competitors for up to one year. The experts concerned continue to be paid during this compulsory break – in effect, they receive a generous paid leave of absence. However, this golden cage has its price: according to Business Insider, many researchers feel disconnected from the rapid development in the AI sector as a result.
“Desperate” requests
The situation seems to be so stressful for some of those affected that they are actively looking for ways out. Microsoft’s AI vice president told Platform X last month that DeepMind employees were “desperately” turning to him to find ways around their non-compete clauses.
“Our employment contracts are in line with market standards,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “Given the sensitive nature of our work, we use non-compete agreements selectively to protect our legitimate interests.”
What are non-compete clauses?
Non-compete clauses are contractual clauses that prohibit employees from working for direct competitors for a set period of time after leaving the company. In the case of Google DeepMind, these prohibitions are apparently used particularly strategically to prevent valuable AI expertise from migrating to the competition. The specialists concerned continue to receive their salary, but remain de facto condemned to inactivity in their area of expertise.
Competition for leading AI talent between tech giants such as Google, OpenAI and other industry heavyweights is extremely intense. While such non-compete clauses have been largely illegal in the US since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned them last year, these restrictions do not apply to DeepMind’s headquarters in London.
