So you want to make an Acqui Hire?
🚨 The $14B hire: Did Meta just make the most expensive software recruiting hire of all time?
Meta aqui-hired Scale AI, and with it, Scale’s CEO Alexander Wang, in a deal valued at an astonishing $14.3 billion.
And they’re not alone.
Right now, the US tech giants are on an aqui-hiring spree. Snapping up smaller AI companies not for the product, but for the people. Talent is the prize. Company IP? Sometimes an afterthought.
Google reportedly shelled out $2.4 billion to acquire top talent from AI coding startup Windsurf
But what exactly is an Acqui Hire?
👉 These deals aren’t really about the tech.
👉 They’re not even about growth.
👉 They’re about talent density and removing future competition.
It’s the ultimate power move: Kill a rival before it scales, absorb a ready-made team of A+ engineers, fast-track product development and own the market.
But not everyone’s writing Billion £ cheques. There’s a cheaper, smarter play emerging.
Team Hires
Take Anthropic, who recently brought in the founding team of Humanloop, only without acquiring the business. No formal M&A. Just pure team absorption.
Why’s this smart?
✅ Limited company diligence hell
✅ No messy integration
✅ No overpaying for non-core assets
✅ Just great people, slotted straight in
It’s my prediction that Team Hires are going to be the next big thing. And that’s why Series A-C founders need to pay attention.
The smartest companies right now are making team hires. They’re pulling in ready-made, high-performing squads to fast-track growth, enter new markets, or build AI capabilities from day one.
Team moves are more common in banking, I moved a Software team of 4 from one investment bank to another. The incoming VP asked if they could bring the team and the acquiring bank was only too happy.
And for smaller high growth Series A-C companies, this can be your secret weapon:
✅ Move faster than the market
✅ Absorb top talent without bloated acquisition costs
✅ Leapfrog your competitors
You just need the right team, all at once. Start with the VP Eng or CTO then take the best Developers.
Are you a Founder, Operator, or Investor at a VC/PE-backed company?
If you’re thinking about driving revenue, replacing underperformers, launching a new market, or gearing up to raise, then we should talk.
We partner with high-growth companies to place proven operators, strategic builders, commercial leaders, and transformation-focused execs.
Recent hires include CEO, CFO, VPs of Product, Heads of Marketing, Sales Directors, Heads of People and Software Engineers.
DM Ellis Seder me for a confidential chat!