Google DeepMind enforces long garden leave clauses in the UK
NandoDF · x · 2026-08-15
Nando de Freitas highlighted that @GoogleDeepMind enforces long garden leave clauses in the UK, requiring senior AI researchers to take 12 months off and junior researchers 6 months before joining competitors. In contrast, California law allows employees to start companies immediately after leaving (e.g., Jeff Dean, Oriol Vinyals). While praising DeepMind as a great research environment, de Freitas argues that these non-compete measures create bureaucracy and inefficiency, suggesting the company should focus on competing rather than restricting talent mobility.
Related event: Ex-DeepMind staffer blasts UK garden leave rules stifling AI startups(7 posts)→
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