Microsoft has recruited at least 24 researchers and engineers from Alphabet’s Google DeepMind unit during the past six months, CNBC and the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The hires are part of a sustained talent drive as the software maker races to refine its generative-AI products. Notable arrivals include Amar Subramanya, who oversaw engineering for Google’s Gemini assistant, former DeepMind distinguished software engineer Adam Sadovsky and engineering lead Sonal Gupta. All three have joined Microsoft AI, the division headed by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman that builds the consumer-facing Copilot assistant and supports the Bing search engine. The poaching spree highlights the escalating competition among large technology companies for scarce AI expertise. Microsoft’s latest recruits follow an earlier influx of staff from Suleyman’s former startup Inflection and comes weeks after the company said it would cut about 9,000 positions in other areas of its business.