Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google reportedly quadrupled a salary offer that one of its employees received from a top AI startup as the Sundar Pichai-led company looks to safeguard its crown jewel.
What Happened: Embracing the halls of Silicon Valley is the fascinating tale of Perplexity AI founder and CEO, Aravind Srinivas, who disclosed a daring poaching attempt that led to Google quadrupling a top employee’s salary. The coveted talent pool within the AI landscape has incited a fierce battle reminiscent of a corporate Game of Thrones.
Amidst an escalating race in web search supremacy, Google’s throne faces threats from towering AI juggernauts such as the Microsoft Corp.-backed, MSFT OpenAI, Perplexity AI, and the emerging The Browser Company with its disruptive Arc Search app.
When crafting a worthy foe to Google Search, the quest demands not only sizable capital, but a trove of elite talent. Such is the conundrum that Srinivas sought to unravel when tempting a Googler to join the Perplexity AI ranks, only to be stymied by Google’s strategic maneuver.
In a revelation on the Big Technology Podcast, Srinivas expounded, “There was this extraordinary candidate that I endeavored to enlist from Google. They…function within the search team. The instant he conveyed his intention to join us, Google magnified his offer to an unheard-of extent. I have never borne witness to a more pronounced augmentation.”
This astonishing turn of events unfolds against the backdrop of Google’s sweeping staff reduction, aligning with a broader trend of belt-tightening across the tech sector. In just the month of January, Google initiated over 1,000 inexplicable layoffs across core engineering and Google Assistant teams, adding a touch of mystique to their cascading personnel reforms.
What raises eyebrows is Srinivasan’s claim that dispossessed employees were those with “exorbitant compensation,” casting Google’s decision to amplify salary offers to poached employees in a perplexing light. This calculated move implies that the prized talent was more invaluable to the behemoth, counter to its purported cost-cutting endeavors.
Why It Matters: Recent data from StatCounter reveals that Google Search commands a staggering 91.47% share in global web search, dwarfing Microsoft’s Bing at a paltry 3.42%. The nascent Perplexity AI app has yet to make a dent, bearing a distinct approach to AI-driven web searches. This transcends the classical narrative of David versus Goliath, stirring anticipation as to whether Perplexity AI can surmount Google’s colossal war chest, leveraging its AI mastery as the equalizer in this grand fracas.
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