11 executives and researchers who left Google in 2025 — mostly for Microsoft

In a notable shift in the tech landscape, Google has faced significant departures among its AI and cloud division talent, primarily moving towards Microsoft. This year's fierce competition for AI expertise has seen the Gemini creator losing several high-profile employees, even as it simultaneously recruited new talent from other major tech firms. The rivalry between Google DeepMind and Microsoft's AI unit has intensified, particularly between cofounders Mustafa Suleyman and Demis Hassabis. Suleyman, who now leads Microsoft's consumer AI initiatives, and Hassabis, the current CEO of Google DeepMind, originally founded DeepMind in 2010, leading to its acquisition by Google for over $500 million in 2014. After leaving Google, Suleyman established Inflection AI and subsequently joined Microsoft through a substantial $650 million 'acqui-hire', marking a significant loss for Google. The trend of AI talent migration from Google to Microsoft has continued to grow as the tech job market experiences a cooling phase. Here’s a summary of notable figures who have transitioned from Google to Microsoft and other firms this year: - **Amar Subramanya**, who served as Google’s vice president of engineering for over 15 years, joined Microsoft as its corporate vice president of AI before later announcing a move to Apple. - **Adam Sadovsky**, a senior director at Google for almost 18 years, became Microsoft’s corporate vice president of its AI division in June. - **Sonal Gupta**, previously a principal engineer at Google DeepMind, took on a role as technical staff in Microsoft's AI team after working with Meta. - **Steve Regini**, the former head of global customers engineering at Google, is now the senior vice president of global solutions engineering at SentinelOne, a cybersecurity firm with an AI focus. - **Jonas Rothfuss**, who was a research scientist at Google DeepMind, joined Microsoft in May as a member of the technical staff in their AI division. - **Albert Lee**, who played a crucial role in Google's acquisitions, left his position as senior director of corporate development at Google Cloud to become OpenAI’s new vice president of corporate development. - **Tim Frank**, a senior director of product management at Google, took on the role of corporate vice president of AI monetization at Microsoft. - **Sunil Potti**, who managed Google Cloud's security business for over five years, transitioned to a venture capital firm as a partner focusing on cybersecurity. - **Brian Hall**, previously a vice president of products at Google, left for an undisclosed role in AI but expressed excitement about his new path on LinkedIn. - **Dave Citron**, a former senior director at Google DeepMind, joined Microsoft in August as corporate vice president of its AI group, excited about the company's direction. - **Warren Barkley**, who headed product at Google Cloud, became the vice president of product management at Nvidia in August. As the competition for AI talent escalates, the tech industry will be watching closely to see how these transitions shape the future of innovation and development in AI technologies.