DeepMind's share of top AI hires in Europe plummets as rivals poach

New data from Zeki Data shows DeepMind'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 lab has lost prominent figures including Jeff Dean and several senior researchers, with departures driven by aggressive poaching from rivals and a shift toward commercializing Gemini. Morale issues and the lure of pre-IPO stock at competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic are also contributing to the exodus.