Indian-origin tech leader Amar Subramanya has made waves in the AI world after stepping down from Google and taking on a new role as Corporate Vice President of AI at Microsoft. His move ends a 16-year journey with Google, where he held senior engineering roles, most recently leading development for the Gemini chatbot. Subramanya brings a total of 24 years of experience in the tech industry and is now poised to contribute to Microsoft’s expanding AI portfolio.
In a candid LinkedIn post, Subramanya shared that what struck him most about Microsoft was its “refreshingly low-ego yet highly ambitious” culture. He expressed admiration for the company’s pace of innovation and described his new team as collaborative and driven, with a mindset similar to that of a startup. He praised Microsoft’s bold efforts in artificial intelligence, especially projects like Copilot, which leverages OpenAI’s GPT models to enhance productivity across Windows platforms.
Reflecting on what inspired his decision, Subramanya mentioned “amazing conversations” with Microsoft’s top executives, including CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman. These interactions, he said, were both humbling and energizing, revealing a strong, clear vision for the future of AI.
Before joining Microsoft, Subramanya led the engineering team behind Gemini, Google’s AI-powered chatbot. Although Gemini faced stiff competition, it evolved significantly under his leadership. His experience could now prove instrumental in accelerating Microsoft’s own AI innovation.
Subramanya’s appointment is part of Microsoft’s broader AI hiring spree. In recent months, the company recruited 24 engineers and researchers from Google’s DeepMind group. However, this expansion has not come without controversy. Microsoft recently laid off nearly 9,100 employees globally to reallocate resources toward AI initiatives, even shutting down operations in some regions like Pakistan.
Meanwhile, tech rivals aren’t standing still. Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also made strategic hires for its Superintelligence Labs, offering hefty compensation to attract AI talent. With leaders like Subramanya onboard, Microsoft is positioning itself aggressively in the AI arms race, aiming to shape the future of artificial intelligence.
