Wall Street banks and Goldman Sachs engages in heated battle for the best minds in artificial intelligence

In a competitive race to secure top talent in artificial intelligence (AI), Wall Street banks are engaging in poaching practices, with Goldman Sachs notably experiencing a significant talent drain over the past year. According to a Bloomberg report citing data from consultancy Evident, Goldman Sachs faced a net outflow of 60 AI professionals to rivals like Morgan Stanley and Citigroup in the 12 months through September, marking the largest exodus among major competitors.

While the departure represents a fraction of Goldman Sachs’ global workforce of nearly 46,000, it underscores the intense competition for leading AI talent. Alexandra Mousavizadeh, CEO of Evident, stressed the importance of not only recruiting but also nurturing and retaining AI talent.

Evident’s analysis covered various roles in AI development, model risk, data engineering, and software development, revealing the fierce rivalry for AI expertise. Despite the small percentage of departures among thousands of AI staff in banks, these roles are highly sought-after and often command some of the highest salaries.

Last year, the median compensation for employees in AI-related roles in the US was $901,000, while their European counterparts earned $676,000, according to a Heidrick & Struggles report. However, the data presented by Evident does not encompass banks’ direct hiring of AI talent from universities and consultancies.

Goldman Sachs, experiencing a net loss of 106 AI-focused staffers to rivals, has been actively recruiting to attract top AI talent. Nevertheless, this outflow highlights the fierce competition in the field. Other banks, such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo, have also witnessed shifts in their AI talent pool.

Bank of America faced a net loss of 55 staffers, while Wells Fargo saw the largest net increase with 130 people. JPMorgan Chase & Co. experienced a loss of 224 AI-focused staffers but added 325 over the same period, securing one of the most significant net increases in talent among peers.

AI has become integral to the strategies of major banks, with JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon expressing belief that AI will enable employers to reduce the workweek to just 3.5 days. The importance of AI is also evident at Citigroup, which plans to empower its 40,000 coders with the ability to experiment with different AI technologies by the end of the first quarter.