Intuit CEO: Silicon Valley Slump Makes Tech Talent Easier to Poach

Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi claims that the employment instability and uncertainty at the Silicon Valley Masters of the Universe is making it easier to poach star talent in AI. Tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon that once seemed unshakeable have all laid off staff and cut budgets, leading some of their top employees to seek greener pastures.

Business Insider reports that according to the CEO of software giant Intuit, Sasan Goodarzi, it has become far easier to poach top talent in AI even while they are still employed because of the employment instability at major tech companies. Due to the uncertainty caused by layoffs at tech giants like Google, Facebook (now known as Meta), Microsoft, and Amazon, many highly qualified tech workers are now looking for more secure employment.

“It’s actually become easier because of all the tech layoffs, because of the uncertainty the layoffs have caused. It’s getting people to raise their heads who wouldn’t,” Goodarzi told Insider in an interview. “Looking back over the past six or seven months, it’s been far easier to find that type of talent — data and AI have been core to our strategy.”

Intuit, the software juggernaut behind services like Mailchimp, TurboTax, and CreditKarma, has made significant investments in AI since Goodarzi took over in 2019. Because of its emphasis on AI, the business has been able to draw in engineers who view Intuit’s investments as a sign of stability and dedication.

Around 70,000 workers have been affected by the recent mass layoffs by tech giants, which raises questions about how the remaining staff is feeling and might put off potential new hires. Intuit, on the other hand, has avoided mass layoffs and has purposefully expanded, with employee numbers rising from 13,500 to 17,300 between 2021 and 2022.

Intuit’s financial performance has been strong with revenues of $3 billion, an increase from $2.7 billion, and net income of $168 million from $100 million the year before. The business employs AI for countless customer interactions and forecasts, but it hasn’t disclosed the precise number of hires in this area.

Since his early days as CEO, Goodarzi has been a proponent of AI, even following Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as he oversaw the multibillion-dollar investment with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. Reflecting on the importance of AI, Goodarzi said, “People laughed at the time, but I had shared that I believe, after electricity and the internet, AI would ignite global innovation in ways we could never imagine possible.”

Read more at Business Insider here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan