It’s not uncommon for large companies to acquire startups primarily for their talent rather than their product. Acquihires, as they are called, allow big companies to gain talented employees, while bypassing traditional methods of hiring.

However, as the AI talent wars have heated up, major companies like Meta, Google, and Microsoft have been engaging in reverse-acquihires at AI startups. That is, they are swooping in to hire star talent and license technology, discarding the rest by the wayside. The tech giants gain talent while sidestepping the need for government approval and antitrust scrutiny that would happen if they bought the company outright.

The remaining employees are left to flounder in the husk of their former company. By Bloomberg’s count there have been six since last Marc

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