In recent years, Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies, including OpenAI and Google, have spent billions on AI infrastructure while paying massive pay packages to secure the talent needed to build the next generation of intelligence. Companies like Meta have made headlines by reportedly offering packages worth up to $300 million over four years, with over $100 million paid in the first year alone to lure top AI talent. However, Microsoft appears to be taking a different path in this race.

Microsoft began its AI journey through collaboration, including its long-term partnership with OpenAI. But the company now wants to position itself more strongly with big plans to join the AI ​​race. And for this, it is not planning to attract talent by offering huge salary packages. Instead, Mustafa Suleiman, chief executive of Microsoft’s AI division, says the company is putting culture first.

Speaking on Bloomberg’s The Mishal Hussain Show, Suleman made it clear that Microsoft prefers a more measured approach, focused on team-building and long-term culture rather than headline-grabbing pay checks. “I don’t think anyone is matching those things,” Suleiman said, referring to the reported $100 million signing bonus and $250 million compensation package offered by Meta to lure leading AI engineers and researchers. “I think Zuck has taken a particular approach that involves hiring a lot of individuals rather than building a team, and I don’t think that’s really the right approach.”

Suleiman’s comments come at a time when Silicon Valley is clearly divided. With a limited pool of researchers capable of building and scaling robust models, AI companies are leaving no stone unturned in offering huge salaries and bonuses to hire them. While companies like Meta and Google are willing to pay almost any price to retain talent, Microsoft believes that culture and togetherness matter more than raw compensation when it comes to gaining an edge.

Drawing on his experience as co-founder of DeepMind, Suleiman said he has always been highly selective about hiring, a philosophy he has adopted into his current role leading Microsoft’s AI division. Suleiman says his focus at Microsoft is to gradually bring on people, prioritizing candidates who align with the company culture and can work effectively within tightly integrated teams. He suggested that the aim is to build organizations that are sustainable over the long term rather than relying solely on short-term recruitment wins driven by financial incentives.

That said, Suleiman also acknowledged that larger pay packages and talent movement are inevitable at companies in the AI ​​industry. He pointed to recent departures, such as Microsoft corporate vice president of AI Amar Subramaniam’s departure for Apple, describing such changes as part of general industry “rotation.” He said Microsoft has also hired engineers and researchers from rivals including DeepMind and OpenAI. “There is certainly no ‘no-poach’ agreement – ​​that would not be legal,” Suleiman said. “People can work for whoever they want to work for.”

Meanwhile, while Microsoft is placing greater emphasis on culture-first hiring, its rivals are spending huge amounts of money to boost their AI ambitions. Meta has taken aggressive steps to strengthen its AI capabilities, including a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI earlier this year. Google has also made high-profile acquisitions, including a $2.4 billion deal to bring in the leadership team from Windsurfing. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman previously claimed that Meta had offered some OpenAI employees $100 million packages – OpenAI reportedly matched the offer in order to retain key employees.