DeepMind's Talent Drain Accelerates as Rival Labs Poach Top Researchers

Google DeepMind is losing its grip on elite AI talent, according to new data from Zeki Data. The lab's share of research and advanced-engineering hires across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa fell from 49% in 2022-23 to 18.6% in 2025-26.

The shift is attributed to rival labs like OpenAI and Anthropic aggressively poaching talent with cash-heavy offers, as well as Google's own push to close the gap with these competitors.

DeepMind's changing identity has also weakened its historic appeal. The lab has become more tightly organized around improving and commercializing Gemini, which some researchers see as displacing open-ended, long-horizon science.