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Big Tech and Wall Street Are on the Hunt for AI Specialists

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The big story

AI job feeding frenzy


Sam Altman (left) and Mark Zuckerberg (right).

Justin Sullivan via Getty Images; Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, Chelsea Jia Feng/BI



AI might ultimately take all our jobs. But right now, it’s minting plenty of high-paying roles.

Eager to understand how to leverage the tech, companies are racing to scoop up AI specialists.

The fight for talent has tech companies pulling out all the stops. That includes calls from high-profile CEOs and seven-figure pay packages, writes Kali Hays and Ellen Thomas.

But Big Tech companies aren’t just competing with each other. Wall Street is throwing big money at AI specialists. Banks, hedge funds, and private equity are all getting in on the fun.

And then there are startups. But it’s not just about joining a young company. With so many venture capitalists eager to fund AI ideas, some AI talent are starting their own companies.


A person looking at numbers and graphs on a green background.

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The AI hiring frenzy comes during a massive spending spree in the space.

Microsoft’s chief financial officer, Amy Hood, said on the tech giant’s earnings call that capital expenditure would increase “materially.”

Mark Zuckerberg told Meta investors it’s investing more in AI than it initially realized. And it might be a while before it pays off. (Zuckerberg does have a plan to eventually make money from the AI investments.)

But not everyone is convinced, as investors sent Meta’s shares tumbling in the wake of earnings.

The dynamic puts incredible pressure on the AI talent being brought in. With shareholders keen on these AI investments to payoff, companies will be expected to find revenue streams quickly.

But operating at such speed, especially as regulators keep a close eye, won’t be easy.

A new FTC rule banning non-competes adds another wrinkle to a market that prides itself on secrets. (Non-competes are banned in California, but remain prevalent in certain corners of Wall Street.)

Businesses are already fighting the rule, but if it survives the courts it could mean even more movement of AI talent.


News brief

Your Monday headline catchup

A quick recap of the top news from over the weekend:

3 things in markets


An image of a trader blowing a bubble.

Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images



  1. It’s gonna take some carnage to get rate cuts. Black Swan investor Mark Spitznagel said the Federal Reserve will only consider lowering interest rates when a recession is imminent or the stock market is crashing. “Be careful what you wish for,” Spitznagel told Reuters.

  2. The AI-fueled stock market bubble has a few years left. Research firm Capital Economics said 2026 is when things will come crashing down for AI. It has a glum prediction for the markets, anticipating returns from equities will be weaker over the next decade than the previous one.

  3. David Einhorn has a theory about why gold prices have spiked. In his latest letter to investors, published this week, the Greenlight Capital founder said there’s been a “secular trend” of countries from the East buying the precious metal from Western nations.


3 things in tech


Bill Gates keeps track of all the businesses that Microsoft is involved in.

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  1. Bill Gates never left. Since 2021, Gates has largely been out of the picture at Microsoft — at least publicly. Current and former executives told BI Gates stayed intimately involved in the company’s operations. While CEO Satya Nadella might be the face of Microsoft’s AI success, insiders say Gates has been the one quietly pulling the strings.

  2. No For You Page, no problem. The ink has dried on the “TikTok ban” bill, and many are concerned about the app’s future. Selling TikTok without its infamous algorithm seems like an inevitable doom for a new owner. But what if it’s not?

  3. Shopify is back. The e-commerce giant’s stock surged 200% in the 18 months after October 2022. Analysts credit Shopify’s rebound to several well-timed decisions, including selling off a money-losing business and making two big cuts to its head count.


3 things in business

  1. A tale of two Gen Zs in America. There are young people who have followed traditional milestones in life and then there are those who are getting left behind. Meet the “disconnected youth” — they want education and a good job, but circumstances outside of their control are getting in the way. And that might cost them.

  2. The sudden demise of ComplYant. A tax-compliance startup abruptly closed its doors in September, despite raising over $10 million in venture funding. It took employees two months to receive their final paycheck. Then the CEO cut off all contact

  3. Guys literally only want one thing… a $7,000 chair. The Herman Miller Eames lounge chair and ottoman has become a status symbol for a certain type of young, newly rich American man. BI set out to find out why finance and tech guys are treating a chair like it’s a Rolex or a Porsche.


In other news

What’s happening today

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London. Grace Lett, associate editor, in Chicago.

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