Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labs
Data as of
- Median university tenure (years)
- 6
- Median big tech tenure (years)
- 4
- Median institute tenure (years)
- 4
- Median other-company tenure (years)
- 3
- Median frontier-lab tenure (years)
- 2
Across 15,811 dated work stays held by 6,529 people at 3,890 organizations, we estimate a median tenure of 5 years (middle half: 2 to 11 years). Divided into five organization types, median tenure is 6 years at universities (middle half 2 to 16 years across 8,324 stays), 4 years at institutes (middle half 2 to 9 years across 2,802 stays), 4 years at big tech (middle half 1 to 8 years across 1,574 stays), 3 years at other companies (middle half 1 to 7 years across 2,426 stays) and 2 years at frontier labs (middle half 1 to 5 years across 685 stays).
Key findings
- Universities have a 6-year overall median and a 14-year median among current roles: Universities have an overall median tenure of 6 years, ahead of institutes (4 years), big tech (4 years), other companies (3 years) and frontier labs (2 years). Among ongoing roles held in 2026, universities have a median of 14 years (middle half 6 to 26 years across 3,695 stays); completed former roles have medians from 2 years to 3 years across the five organization types.
- 68% of frontier-lab stays began in the 2020s, and 73% of pre-2022 stays at frontier labs lasted 5+ years: 463 of the 685 dated frontier-lab stays (68%) began in the 2020s. For stays that began in the 2010s, universities and frontier labs share the lead at a median of 7 years. Among stays started in or before 2021, 73% of stays at frontier labs (204 of 280) lasted 5 years or more, compared with 66% at universities (4,889 of 7,354), 58% at institutes (1,279 of 2,205), 55% at big tech (692 of 1,252) and 52% at other companies (912 of 1,756).
- Company founders stay longer than non-founders: At companies outside big tech and frontier labs, 714 founding stays have a median tenure of 4 years (middle half 2 to 9 years), compared with 3 years (middle half 1 to 6 years) across 1,712 non-founding stays. At frontier labs, 41 founding stays have a median tenure of 3 years, compared with 2 years across 644 non-founding stays.
- Five-year retention went from 71% in the 1970s to 57% in the 2010s: Overall median tenure by starting decade went from 10 years in the 1970s and 12 years in the 1980s to 6 years in the 2010s and 2 years in the 2020s. For roles started by 2021, the share of stays lasting 5 years or more went from 71% in the 1970s to 57% in the 2010s; in big tech, median tenure fell from 15 years (82% lasting 5+ years) in the 1970s to 4 years (49%) in the 2010s.
- Which organizations keep people longest: Among the 83 organizations with at least 30 dated stays, University of Massachusetts Amherst leads at a median of 18.5 years, followed by CNRS (14 years), Chinese Academy of Sciences (13.5 years), the University of Texas at Austin (12.5 years) and Rutgers University (12 years). Across the 122 organizations with at least 20 stays, University of Massachusetts Amherst leads at 18.5 years, ahead of KU Leuven at 17 years. Within industry and frontier labs (30+ stays), IBM (6 years) leads big tech, Google DeepMind (4 years) leads frontier labs, and AT&T and Xerox (5 years) lead other companies.
Tenure by organization type
Range plot of role tenure in years across five organization types: universities (median 6 years, middle half 2 to 16, 8,324 stays), institutes (median 4 years, middle half 2 to 9, 2,802 stays), big tech (median 4 years, middle half 1 to 8, 1,574 stays), other companies (median 3 years, middle half 1 to 7, 2,426 stays) and frontier labs (median 2 years, middle half 1 to 5, 685 stays).
Source: People of Superintelligence career records from biographies and OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.
Data table
| Organization type | Median (yr) | Middle half (yr) | Current median (yr) | Completed median (yr) | Stayed 5+ yr (started ≤2021) | Dated stays | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universities | 6 | 2–16 | 14 (3,695) | 3 (4,629) | 66% (4,889/7,354) | 8,324 | 4,549 |
| Institutes | 4 | 2–9 | 6 (1,010) | 3 (1,792) | 58% (1,279/2,205) | 2,802 | 2,083 |
| Big tech | 4 | 1–8 | 6 (502) | 3 (1,072) | 55% (692/1,252) | 1,574 | 1,283 |
| Other companies | 3 | 1–7 | 3 (894) | 3 (1,532) | 52% (912/1,756) | 2,426 | 1,796 |
| Frontier labs | 2 | 1–5 | 2 (439) | 2 (246) | 73% (204/280) | 685 | 626 |
| All dated biography-backed stays | 5 | 2–11 | 8 (6,540) | 3 (9,271) | 62% (7,976/12,847) | 15,811 | 6,529 |
Across all 6,540 current stays held in 2026, median elapsed tenure is 8 years (middle half 3 to 20 years); across the 9,271 completed stays that have ended, median tenure is 3 years (middle half 1 to 7 years). At universities, 3,695 current stays have a median tenure of 14 years (middle half 6 to 26 years), and 1,394 of them (38%) have lasted 20 years or more. Completed university stays have a median duration of 3 years (middle half 1 to 8 years across 4,629 stays).
Big tech (1,574 stays across 30 companies) and institutes (2,802 stays across 1,091 standalone labs, nonprofits, and government research bodies) share an overall median of 4 years and an ongoing-role median of 6 years. Over a 10-year window (roles started in or before 2016), 41% of big-tech stays (341 of 827) and 37% of institute stays (612 of 1,670) lasted at least 10 years, compared with 52% at universities (3,225 of 6,180) and 28% at other companies (362 of 1,314). Among the 2,426 stays at other companies (1,537 firms outside big tech and frontier labs), 714 (29%) are founding roles: founders stay for a median of 4 years (middle half 2 to 9 years), and non-founding stays have a median of 3 years (middle half 1 to 6 years across 1,712 stays).
The longest individual dated stays in each organization type are Noam Chomsky at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (71 years, 1955–2026) among universities, Richard J. Waldinger at SRI International (57 years, 1969–2026) among institutes, Ronald Fagin at IBM (53 years, 1973–2026) in big tech, Jim Goodnight at SAS Institute (50 years, 1976–2026) among other companies, and Demis Hassabis at Google DeepMind (16 years, 2010–2026) among frontier labs.
Tenure by starting era
Across all 15,811 dated stays, the share of roles still held in 2026 rose from 20% for stays started in the 1970s (102 of 512) to 39% in the 2010s (1,829 of 4,717) and 69% in the 2020s (2,741 of 3,988).
Line chart of median role tenure in years by starting decade from the 1970s to the 2020s for universities (1970s: 13 yr, 1980s: 17 yr, 1990s: 12 yr, 2000s: 11 yr, 2010s: 7 yr, 2020s: 2 yr), big tech (1970s: 15 yr, 1980s: 11 yr, 1990s: 10 yr, 2000s: 8 yr, 2010s: 4 yr, 2020s: 1 yr), institutes (1970s: 7 yr, 1980s: 7.5 yr, 1990s: 6 yr, 2000s: 5 yr, 2010s: 6 yr, 2020s: 2 yr) and other companies (1970s: 8 yr, 1980s: 6 yr, 1990s: 5 yr, 2000s: 4 yr, 2010s: 4 yr, 2020s: 2 yr).
Source: People of Superintelligence career records from biographies and OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.
Data table
| Starting decade | All stays median (yr) | Completed median (yr) | Stayed 5+ yr (started ≤2021) | Universities (yr) | Big tech (yr) | Institutes (yr) | Other companies (yr) | Frontier labs (yr) | Total stays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10 | 7 | 71% (364/512) | 13 (360) | 15 (17) | 7 (77) | 8 (58) | — | 512 |
| 1980s | 12 | 6 | 72% (826/1,150) | 17 (753) | 11 (45) | 7.5 (200) | 6 (152) | — | 1,150 |
| 1990s | 8 | 5 | 64% (1,308/2,032) | 12 (1,272) | 10 (123) | 6 (348) | 5 (289) | — | 2,032 |
| 2000s | 8 | 4 | 64% (1,934/3,038) | 11 (1,932) | 8 (236) | 5 (512) | 4 (358) | — | 3,038 |
| 2010s | 6 | 3 | 57% (2,697/4,717) | 7 (2,374) | 4 (657) | 6 (772) | 4 (692) | 7 (222) | 4,717 |
| 2020s | 2 | 1 | 57% (586/1,024) | 2 (1,397) | 1 (482) | 2 (818) | 2 (828) | 1 (463) | 3,988 |
Across the four sectors tracked from the 1970s through the 2020s, university stays went from a median of 13 years in the 1970s (and 17 years in the 1980s) to 7 years in the 2010s; completed former stays fell from 7 years in the 1970s to 3 years in the 2010s and 1 year in the 2020s. Among roles started in or before 2021, the share lasting 5 years or more went from 71% in the 1970s (364 of 512) to 57% in the 2010s (2,697 of 4,717) and 57% among roles started in 2020–2021 (586 of 1,024).
Frontier labs have a 2-year overall median and a 73% 5-year retention rate (above universities at 66%). Of all dated frontier-lab stays, 463 of 685 (68%) started in the 2020s. For cohorts started in the 2010s (4,717 stays across all sectors), frontier labs (222 stays at Google DeepMind and OpenAI) have a median tenure of 7 years, matching universities (7 years) and ahead of big tech (4 years), and a 5-year retention rate of 75%, above universities (60%) and above big tech (49%).
Which organizations keep people longest
Among the 83 organizations with at least 30 dated biography-backed work stays, the University of Massachusetts Amherst (30 stays, middle half 6 to 31.8 years) ranks first with a median tenure of 18.5 years. The next longest medians belong to CNRS (14 years, middle half 5 to 29.5 years across 63 stays), Chinese Academy of Sciences (13.5 years, middle half 6 to 20.8 years across 50 stays), the University of Texas at Austin (12.5 years, middle half 6 to 25.3 years across 48 stays) and Rutgers University (12 years, middle half 5 to 21 years across 31 stays). Expanding the threshold to the 122 organizations with at least 20 dated stays brings the University of Massachusetts Amherst (18.5 years, middle half 6 to 31.8 years across 30 stays) to the top, followed by KU Leuven (17 years, 24 stays) and the University of Pittsburgh (16 years, 23 stays).
Horizontal bar chart of median role tenure in years for 24 organizations with at least 30 dated stays: University of Massachusetts Amherst (18.5 years, middle half 6 to 31.8, 30 stays), CNRS (14 years, middle half 5 to 29.5, 63 stays), Chinese Academy of Sciences (13.5 years, middle half 6 to 20.8, 50 stays), University of Texas at Austin (12.5 years, middle half 6 to 25.3, 48 stays), Rutgers University (12 years, middle half 5 to 21, 31 stays), Technion (11 years, middle half 3 to 27.5, 38 stays), Chinese University of Hong Kong (11 years, middle half 3 to 23, 41 stays), University of California, San Diego (10 years, middle half 4.8 to 23.3, 52 stays), Tsinghua University (9.5 years, middle half 2 to 22.3, 36 stays), University of California, Los Angeles (9 years, middle half 1 to 20.8, 54 stays), University of Michigan (9 years, middle half 3 to 18, 59 stays), University of Tokyo (9 years, middle half 3 to 16, 49 stays), RIKEN (9 years, middle half 4 to 9, 51 stays), IBM (6 years, middle half 2 to 15, 188 stays), AT&T (5 years, middle half 2 to 10.3, 116 stays), Google (5 years, middle half 1 to 10, 355 stays), Xerox (5 years, middle half 1.8 to 9.3, 36 stays), Microsoft (4 years, middle half 1 to 11, 358 stays), Google DeepMind (4 years, middle half 1 to 8, 328 stays), Yahoo (3.5 years, middle half 1 to 5, 34 stays), OpenAI (2 years, middle half 1 to 4, 139 stays), Anthropic (1 year, middle half 0 to 3, 80 stays), DeepSeek (1 year, middle half 1 to 2, 41 stays) and Mistral AI (1 year, middle half 0 to 2, 39 stays).
Source: People of Superintelligence career records from biographies and OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.
Data table
| Organization | Type | Median (yr) | Middle half (yr) | Current median (yr) | Stayed 5+ yr (started ≤2021) | Dated stays | Current stays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Massachusetts Amherst | Universities | 18.5 | 6–31.8 | 27.5 | 90% (26/29) | 30 | 12 |
| CNRS | Institutes | 14 | 5–29.5 | 28.5 | 79% (48/61) | 63 | 30 |
| Chinese Academy of Sciences | Institutes | 13.5 | 6–20.8 | 19 | 84% (41/49) | 50 | 28 |
| University of Texas at Austin | Universities | 12.5 | 6–25.3 | 13.5 | 87% (40/46) | 48 | 24 |
| Rutgers University | Universities | 12 | 5–21 | 23 | 77% (24/31) | 31 | 7 |
| Technion | Universities | 11 | 3–27.5 | 21 | 81% (26/32) | 38 | 23 |
| Chinese University of Hong Kong | Universities | 11 | 3–23 | 19.5 | 73% (27/37) | 41 | 24 |
| University of California, San Diego | Universities | 10 | 4.8–23.3 | 12.5 | 80% (39/49) | 52 | 24 |
| Tsinghua University | Universities | 9.5 | 2–22.3 | 18 | 72% (21/29) | 36 | 26 |
| University of California, Los Angeles | Universities | 9 | 1–20.8 | 21.5 | 62% (31/50) | 54 | 24 |
| University of Michigan | Universities | 9 | 3–18 | 15 | 67% (39/58) | 59 | 29 |
| University of Tokyo | Universities | 9 | 3–16 | 12.5 | 72% (33/46) | 49 | 24 |
| RIKEN | Institutes | 9 | 4–9 | 9 | 88% (36/41) | 51 | 40 |
| IBM | Big tech | 6 | 2–15 | 23 | 60% (109/181) | 188 | 29 |
| AT&T | Other companies | 5 | 2–10.3 | — | 54% (63/116) | 116 | 0 |
| Big tech | 5 | 1–10 | 10 | 59% (178/301) | 355 | 138 | |
| Xerox | Other companies | 5 | 1.8–9.3 | — | 56% (20/36) | 36 | 0 |
| Microsoft | Big tech | 4 | 1–11 | 10 | 59% (170/289) | 358 | 107 |
| Google DeepMind | Frontier labs | 4 | 1–8 | 6 | 77% (163/211) | 328 | 191 |
| Yahoo | Other companies | 3.5 | 1–5 | — | 35% (12/34) | 34 | 0 |
| OpenAI | Frontier labs | 2 | 1–4 | 2 | 53% (32/60) | 139 | 65 |
| Anthropic | Frontier labs | 1 | 0–3 | 1 | — | 80 | 74 |
| DeepSeek | Frontier labs | 1 | 1–2 | 2 | — | 41 | 32 |
| Mistral AI | Frontier labs | 1 | 0–2 | 1 | — | 39 | 34 |
The longest-tenure employers in each of the five organization types are:
- Universities: At 30+ stays, the University of Massachusetts Amherst (18.5 years, 30 stays) leads. Among universities with 100+ dated stays, medians are 8 years at Carnegie Mellon University (17 years across 105 current stays, 231 total stays), 5 years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (21 years across 97 current stays, 326 total stays), 5 years at the University of Oxford (14 years across 61 current stays, 147 total stays), 5 years at Stanford University (16.5 years across 86 current stays, 275 total stays), 4 years at Harvard University (11 years across 49 current stays, 133 total stays) and 2 years at the University of California, Berkeley (17.5 years across 52 current stays, 245 total stays). At 20+ stays, the University of Massachusetts Amherst (18.5 years, 30 stays) leads.
- Institutes: CNRS (14 years, middle half 5 to 29.5 years across 63 stays) leads among institutes with 20+ stays, ahead of NIST (13.5 years, 22 stays), Chinese Academy of Sciences (13.5 years, 50 stays), National Research Council (12 years, 21 stays) and RIKEN (9 years, 51 stays).
- Big tech: IBM (6 years, middle half 2 to 15 years across 188 stays; 23 years across 29 current stays) leads big tech, followed by Google (5 years, middle half 1 to 10 years, 355 stays), Microsoft (4 years, middle half 1 to 11 years, 358 stays), Meta (3 years, middle half 1 to 6 years, 221 stays), Amazon (3 years, middle half 1 to 6 years, 111 stays) and Apple (3 years, middle half 1 to 4 years, 56 stays).
- Other companies: Among companies outside big tech and frontier labs with 20+ stays, AT&T (5 years, middle half 2 to 10.3 years across 116 stays), Xerox (5 years, middle half 1.8 to 9.3 years across 36 stays), Yahoo (3.5 years, middle half 1 to 5 years across 34 stays), Intel (3 years, middle half 2 to 8.8 years across 22 stays) and NVIDIA (3 years, middle half 1 to 6.5 years across 115 stays) record the longest median tenures.
- Frontier labs: Google DeepMind (4 years, middle half 1 to 8 years across 328 stays; 77% of pre-2022 stays lasting 5+ years) leads frontier labs, ahead of OpenAI (2 years, middle half 1 to 4 years across 139 stays), Anthropic (1 year, middle half 0 to 3 years across 80 stays), DeepSeek (1 year, middle half 1 to 2 years across 41 stays), Mistral AI (1 year, middle half 0 to 2 years across 39 stays), Meta Superintelligence Labs (1 year, middle half 0 to 1 years across 21 stays) and Thinking Machines Lab (1 year, middle half 0 to 1 years across 21 stays).
Career data comes from the biographies on this site and from OpenAlex author records, as of 22 October 2026. People whose OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mixed are left out of citation figures.