How Big Tech is quietly acquiring AI startups without actually buying the companies

Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others have been getting creative in how they're poaching talent from top AI startups. Google inked a deal recently with Character.ai to hire away its prominent founder, Noam Shazeer, along with more than one-fifth of its workforce while also licensing its technology. In March, Microsoft signed a deal with Inflection to use the startup's models and to hire most of its staff. Amazon followed in June with a faux acquisition of Adept. CNBC's Deirdre Bosa has the story.