The AI market is experiencing a significant shift, with top tech firms competing for AI talent.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has lost about a dozen top researchers this year, including co-founder Ilya Sutskever. This brain drain reflects a broader industry trend as companies seek generative AI, machine learning operations (MLOps), and AI engineering experts.
The Demand for AI Talent
The demand for AI talent is skyrocketing, with around 20,000 companies in the West hiring AI experts. Tech giants like Microsoft and Google are seeking star researchers, offering seven-figure salaries to attract top talent. The market for AI labor has been transformed since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, with a 100-fold increase in AI-related job postings since 2023.
The skills in demand have also shifted, with companies looking for experts who can understand and build cutting-edge models. AI engineers are now tasked with determining which AI system to use and how to connect it to a company's data. The share of software engineering job listings citing machine learning operations (MLOps) has doubled since 2022.
Talent flows are also shifting, with engineers leaving big tech for startups like Nvidia, Databricks, and OpenAI. Academic supply is increasing, with 71% of AI PhDs entering industry jobs in 2022. Governments are also taking steps to attract international AI talent, with the US loosening immigration rules to let more AI experts study and work in America.
The Need for a Specialist Staffing Agency
As a staffing agency specializing in AI talent, People In AI can help companies navigate this competitive landscape and find the expertise they need to thrive. The war for AI talent is heating up, and companies must adapt to attract and retain the best talent in the industry.
