Frontier AI Moneyball Reveals New Generation of Talent

Zeki Data has identified the top 2,000 individuals specialising in boundary-pushing research and engineering globally and assessed their future innovation potential— including undervalued players overlooked by talent scouts.

LONDON, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Zeki Data, a UK-based alternative data company that provides high-precision R&D talent intelligence, has identified the 'players' who will develop the next generation of Frontier AI models.

Released today, AI Moneyball is a free Zeki Data briefing on where the top Frontier AI talent is today, what makes them stand out and where to find this new, emerging talent.

'We can see precisely who the next wave of Frontier AI individuals is to lead agentic AI innovation and other vertical market growth,' said Tom Hurd, Zeki Data CEO & Co-founder. 'The current Frontier AI cohort significantly outperforms its peers, and we know which players companies need to attract to keep hitting innovation home runs.'

How Does Zeki Know?

Zeki Data compared a cohort of the top 2,000 individuals behind the creation of the most powerful Fronter AI models outside China against a cohort of 30,000 with the same areas of expertise in AI but who were not selected or did not choose to work on Frontier AI models.

Zeki Data tracked and evaluated the two cohorts' progress over 10 years using a proprietary scoring system based on more than 50 variables. Zeki Data's variables measure their areas of expertise, innovation track record, career positioning, skills, influence and reputation amongst peers.

The results paint a picture of an increasingly concentrated set of elite performers
in AI.

The Frontier AI cohort's distinctive behaviour is outlined in detail for free in Zeki Data's AI Moneyball, including:

• Top Expertise Areas: The cohort's areas of expertise are highly concentrated in eight main specialisations in AI out of over 100 categorised by Zeki Data.
• Top Employer Countries: The US leads as expected, but European and Asian countries make the list alongside the UK, Canada and Australia.
• Top Three Talent Characteristics: There are education and career experiences that are consistent across the Frontier AI cohort of 2,000 and lacking in the comparison cohort of 30,000.

AI Moneyball identifies the difference between 'Power Hitters,' 'Contact Hitters' and 'Opposite Field Hitters' in the major league of Frontier AI. Zeki Data details which companies are leading or lagging and the impact of data-driven talent decisions.

Additional R&D talent insights and the full AI Moneyball briefing are available at www.zekidata.com.

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