The Man Behind Smallest AI’s New Hiring Wave
An Indian-born tech entrepreneur, Sudarshan Kamath, is now hiring engineers who were laid off from Meta’s AI division to work at his San Francisco-based startup Smallest AI. This is an example of how startups can now compete with Big Tech for the best engineers globally.
Sudarshan Kamath founded Smallest AI in San Francisco, where he develops speech-based artificial intelligence systems. Specifically, the company focuses on natural language processing, voice AI, and human-computer interfaces for business purposes. He’s offering to pay engineers between $200,000 and $600,000 per year, plus stock options, for their services, showing how smaller startups are stepping up to attract world-class engineers.
The New Wave of AI Jobs Emerging After Meta’s Layoff Cycle
Smallest AI announced its hiring initiative shortly after Meta fired hundreds of machine learning engineers and researchers as part of an overall large-scale AI layoff. While many of those laid off from Meta were unsure about the future, Sudarshan Kamath welcomed them with open arms, saying it was an opportunity to “build the next chapter of AI innovation” at Smallest AI.
The AI hiring drive reflects growing confidence in the artificial intelligence startup ecosystem. Many of these engineers helped shape Meta’s AI infrastructure and large language models. It is anticipated that the engineers’ experience will enable Smallest AI to excel in areas such as speech recognition, voice automation, and AI-powered communication tools.
The Talent Flow From Big Companies to Agile AI Startups
Industry experts are calling this an example of a larger trend in which Startups are hiring big tech professionals (with the intent) of scaling their business faster. Companies are no longer trying to outdo one another based on size or benefits; instead, they compete on the quality of their mission and the opportunity for employees to own equity in the company.
The goal of Kamath’s team at Smallest AI is to create smarter, safer, and more user-friendly Voice Interfaces for Devices using Artificial Intelligence. The company is planning to expand its research labs in both San Francisco and Bengaluru and tap into the growing number of AI/data scientists in India. It is also developing partnerships with commercial AI software providers interested in incorporating speech and voice models into their current offerings.
Kamath’s Startup Revolution
Kamath’s point is that there’s a larger shift happening in today’s tech market. Startups in AI are showing that it is not just technology that is being invented, but also how talent migrates within the industry. After years of wealth at the hands of Google, Meta, and OpenAI, we are now seeing the next generation of AI innovation being pioneered by small, niche teams such as Smallest AI.
By hiring laid-off experts from large corporations, Kamath is creating a bridge between stability and experimentation. This will allow experienced AI engineers to apply their skills in fluid, high-impact environments without the coloured layers of bureaucracy found in large companies.
Also read | Haptik Launches “AI for All” to Bring Enterprise-Grade AI to Small Businesses in India
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