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In the high-stakes race for AI dominance, Google’s DeepMind division is tightening its grip on talent, forcing some employees to sit out of the industry for up to a year if they leave.
According to multiple reports and former employees, DeepMind, Google’s AI research lab, is using aggressive noncompete clauses to block staff, especially those working on key projects like the Gemini AI model, from joining rivals like OpenAI or Microsoft for months after quitting. Some senior-level researchers are subject to a full year of paid “garden leave,” during which they are prohibited from taking other roles.
“That’s forever in AI”
A six-month or year-long pause can kill a researcher’s career momentum in a field where breakthroughs happen frequently. “Who wants to sign you for starting in a year?” one former DeepMind employee told Business Insider. “That’s forever in AI.”
The issue blew up publicly last month when Nando de Freitas, a former DeepMind director now leading AI at Microsoft, posted on X that he gets weekly messages from DeepMind employees “in despair” over these contracts.
“Dear @GoogDeepMind ers, First, congrats on the new impressive models. Every week one of you reaches out to me in despair to ask me how to escape your notice periods and noncompetes. Also asking me for a job because your manager has explained this is the way to get promoted, but I digress,” de Freitas wrote. He added, “No American corporation should have that much power, especially in Europe,” calling the practice an “abuse of power.”
He urged employees to push back internally — and, above all, “don’t sign these contracts.”
Google’s defense: “It’s standard”
Google said it’s playing by the book. “Our employment contracts are in line with market standards,” a Google spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. “Given the sensitive nature of our work, we use noncompetes selectively to protect our legitimate interests.”
But critics argue that what might be “standard” doesn’t make it fair, especially in an industry where being a few months ahead can be a game-changer.
A legal gray zone
The legality of noncompetes varies widely. In California, where many tech giants, including Google, are based, such clauses are unenforceable. In 2023, the state expanded its ban to cover agreements made elsewhere. But DeepMind is headquartered in the UK, where noncompetes are legal if considered “reasonable.”
That legal discrepancy has left some UK-based researchers considering moves to California as a workaround. The AI talent wars are only heating up, and DeepMind’s approach might just be a sign of what’s to come. As demand for elite AI talent skyrockets, companies are pulling every lever — perks, pay, prestige, and, increasingly, paperwork.
Whether this strategy helps Google stay ahead — or backfires by frustrating its own workforce — could shape the future of employment in the AI industry.
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