Microsoft poaches AI talent from DeepMind, Copilot Gemini rivalry heats up Technology News

This trend has also been observed when OpenAI’s Sam Altman revealed that Meta offered the firm’s employees a $100 million signing bonus. Following this, Meta hired Scale AI CEO Alenxadr Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. Earlier this month, Google signed a $2.4 million deal with Windsurf’s Indian-origin CEO Varun Mohan.

In June, Adam Sadovsky, a distinguished software engineer and senior director at DeepMind with nearly 18 years of experience at Google, also joined Microsoft. Earlier this month, Sonal Gupta, an engineering lead from Google DeepMind, announced her move to Mustafa Suleyman’s Microsoft AI team. Jonas Rothfuss also took a technical staff role at Microsoft AI in May after spending a year as a research scientist at Google DeepMind. Amar Subramanya, a former Google employee of 16 years and the vice president of engineering for the Gemini assistant, has joined Microsoft AI as a corporate vice president.

Developers’ Favorite AI Tools in 2025

That isn’t the full picture though, as from a user perspective, especially if I’m on my phone or looking for some quick update on a breaking story Copilot may have been more useful. It also offered citations and links for every comment, although you can get that from Google if you click the G icon under each response. It didn’t use emojis at the end of every line and was able to reference moments from earlier in the conversation. I didn’t get much out of Copilot for this one, just a single short paragraph suggesting it highlights the importance of diversifying IT infrastructure. It also says there is a need for an incident response plan, regular backups and tracking the industry to ensure all best practices is being followed. Microsoft’s AI also suggested CrowdStrike switch to gradual rollouts for updates, starting with a small subset of systems and monitoring performance before expanding to more devices.

Q: Can you explain what happened with the most recent CrowdStrike global IT outage?

This diversification reflects a broader trend of developers seeking tailored tools to address specific challenges, rather than relying on a single, all-encompassing solution. GitHub Copilot has solidified its position as the most widely used AI tool in 2025, surpassing ChatGPT, which previously led in popularity. Developers favor Copilot for its seamless integration into coding environments and its ability to significantly enhance productivity. Other prominent tools include ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude, and Gemini, each catering to specific use cases and developer preferences. Copilot added that while Windows is widely used « relying solely on any single operating system can pose risks. » Suggesting that « diversification allows businesses to mitigate the impact of such incidents and maintain continuity. »

Jonas Rothfuss took a technical staff role at Microsoft AI in May after spending a year as a research scientist at Google DeepMind. Microsoft owns one of the competitors in this AI match-up so its only fair to see if its AI will offer a balanced view on a potentially unbalanced question. Unlike Copilot it doesn’t just outline where it might be liable but also offers arguments against consequences in a more nuanced response than I’d have expected from a large language model.

The 2025 AI landscape illustrates the evolving preferences of developers as they adapt to rapid technological advancements and shifting industry demands. GitHub Copilot’s rise to prominence, the enduring popularity of Python and TypeScript, and the increasing diversification of AI toolsets highlight a future where developers are empowered by a wide range of technologies tailored to their specific needs. Additionally, developers are increasingly open to using Chinese AI models, provided they are hosted outside of China. This trend highlights a growing trust in the capabilities of these models, balanced by ongoing concerns about data security and regulatory compliance.

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Despite the aggressive recruitment strategies, Microsoft has also announced plans to lay off around 9,000 employees, which is less than 4% of its global workforce. In June, Adam Sadovsky, with nearly 18 years of experience at Google, most recently as a distinguished software engineer and senior director at DeepMind, decamped to Microsoft. On Tuesday, Amar Subramanya, who worked at Google for 16 years, most recently as a vice president of engineering developing the Gemini assistant, said on LinkedIn that he has joined Microsoft AI as a corporate vice president.

• The AI had to be able to remember the first question I asked by the end, to ensure it flowed like an interview and not just a disjointed run of queries.
• He left Google to run AI startup Inflection in 2022, and last year became a Microsoft executive, bringing several of the startup’s employees with him.
• This is the million-dollar question and something AI should be useful for as it can weigh up all the data and present conclusions based on hard facts.
• These include that it appears to be unintentional, that there is limited legal precedent for holding vendors liable for disruption and that there is a degree of shared responsibility due to a lack of adequate recovery plans from some businesses.
• Startups often lean toward building their own solutions, using their agility and innovation-driven culture.

The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, and developers are no longer relying on a single tool to meet their needs. Instead, they’re curating a suite of specialized solutions, with the average developer now using five AI tools—a striking jump from just three in 2024. This shift isn’t just about convenience; it’s about redefining what’s possible in software development. This is the million-dollar question and something AI should be useful for as it can weigh up all the data and present conclusions based on hard facts. The obvious answer will be improved quality assurance and testing, plus better diversification of security providers. Last week a global IT outage left planes grounded, emergency services offline and people unable to work.

Winner: Copilot vs Gemini

This tests the ability they have to find up-to-date information by searching the web and then analyzing and presenting it clearly and concisely. The AI had to be able to remember the first question I asked by the end, to ensure it flowed like an interview and not just a disjointed run of queries.

• The findings underscore the growing reliance on AI to tackle everyday development challenges, optimize workflows, and improve overall efficiency.
• Get live Share Market updates, Stock Market Quotes, and the latest India News and business news on Financial Express.
• GitHub Copilot has solidified its position as the most widely used AI tool in 2025, surpassing ChatGPT, which previously led in popularity.
• It also called for comprehensive backup and recovery plans, monitoring and alerts throughout the system, transparency with vendors and users and collaboration with users.
• In contrast, platforms like Jira, Microsoft Teams, and Confluence are often criticized for their complexity and slower performance, prompting many developers to explore more agile solutions.

Most recently, he held the post of a decorated software engineer and senior director at DeepMind, who walked off with Microsoft’s end of the deal, reported CNBC. Microsoft’s new hires are joining the software company’s AI group led by Suleyman, who reports to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Google has hired the CEO and other employees of AI coding startup Windsurf in a $2.4 billion deal. Google’s chatbot explained the scale of the disruption in a similar way to Copilot and that CrowdStrike quickly issued a fix. Given how badly Microsoft was affected, and that Copilot is Microsoft’s flagship AI I’d say this was a fair and balanced summary with no embellishment or attempt to hide the impact. The first prompt was obvious as the idea was to get both chatbots to explain what happened.