Artificial intelligence specialists are worth their weight in gold, so some large companies pay them extra just to keep them from leaving for competitors.
According to Business InsiderGoogle’s DeepMind division has chosen a similar strategy of «aggressive deals» with respect to some employees in the UK.
Such contracts, according to four ex-employees, prohibit employees from working for competitors for 6-12 months after leaving Google, but with benefits. The terms vary for employees, depending on their skill level and seniority, but are «common» for some of those who worked on Gemini AI models.
«Our labor contracts are in line with market standards,» a Google spokesperson told Business Insider. «Given the sensitive nature of our work, we use anti-competitive activities selectively to protect our legitimate interests».
Competition laws in the US vary from state to state, but in the UK, where DeepMind is headquartered, such anti-compete agreements are enforceable if they are deemed reasonable to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests.
In fact, this could be a serious problem for some talent at one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence labs and limit their freedom of movement — at a time when competitors like OpenAI and Microsoft, which are currently expanding their offices in the UK, can offer better conditions. One former DeepMind employee said that his colleagues were considering moving to California from London to avoid such deals.
Last week, DeepMind’s anticompetitive agreements were publicly discussed after a post by Microsoft AI vice president (and, incidentally, former DeepMind executive) Nando de Freitas.
«Every week, one of you contacts me in desperation to ask how to avoid non-competition,» he wrote. «First of all, don’t sign those contracts. No American corporation should have this much power, especially in Europe. This is an abuse of power that serves no purpose».
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…
— Nando de Freitas (@NandoDF) March 26, 2025
Of course, the initial idea of getting paid for not working for a few months will seem interesting and profitable to most people, although this way you can miss out on a good job offer with a good future.
«Now it’s becoming less popular because there are a lot of cool startups that don’t want to wait more than six months, so people end up missing out on good opportunities,» said one of DeepMind’s former employees.
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