Jason White, a 46-year-old tech veteran with 20 years of industry experience, has resigned from both Google and Meta to pursue his entrepreneurial dream of building an AI-powered financial planning startup. White’s journey through Big Tech began in 2016 when he joined Google as a tech lead in the Gmail division, later transitioning to the Google Search team in 2020.
By 2024, White realized he wanted to focus more heavily on artificial intelligence but felt his position at Google wouldn’t provide that opportunity. When a Meta recruiter approached him about an AI machine learning engineer role, he seized the chance and joined Meta in August 2024. Despite having a positive experience working on AI products in a high-resource environment with talented colleagues, White found himself drawn to entrepreneurship.
Halfway through 2025, White began seriously considering launching a startup that would use AI to help typical households manage their finances. Drawing from his own experience as a low-paid graduate student struggling to provide for a newborn, he recognized that many people lack access to quality financial planning tools. This personal connection to the problem fueled his passion for the venture.
The decision to leave Meta wasn’t easy. White had to weigh multiple factors: leaving a world-class team, sacrificing reliable income, and navigating potential non-compete issues since his startup idea involved AI—similar to his role at Meta. He couldn’t build the business as a side project due to his demanding responsibilities as both a Meta employee and parent, plus disclosure requirements and legal concerns.
White took a methodical approach to his transition, ensuring his family had at least one year of savings to cover expenses without touching retirement accounts. Over six months, he made minor adjustments including reducing 401(k) contributions and increasing liquid savings. His wife’s income provided additional security, though he wanted a cushion in case she also lost her job.
In September 2025, White officially resigned from Meta. Colleagues responded with a mix of surprise, support, and jealousy—many wanted to start their own ventures but faced constraints like visa status, financial limitations, or fear. White is now fully focused on Bear Financial, his AI-powered financial planning startup, which he and his cofounder plan to publicly launch in the second half of 2025. They’re currently bootstrapping the business while considering external funding options.
Key Quotes
By 2024, I realized I wanted to lean more heavily into AI. I didn’t feel my position at Google would give me the opportunity to do that, so I opened myself up to other opportunities.
Jason White explained his motivation for leaving Google after eight years. This quote illustrates how AI has become such a dominant force in tech that even positions at leading companies may not satisfy engineers seeking deeper AI involvement, driving talent movement across the industry.
Many people don’t have access to great financial planning and management tools to help improve their financial situations. While I was still figuring out what the business would look like, I felt there was an opportunity to help people, and that was very motivating for me.
White described the problem his AI startup aims to solve. This reflects a broader trend of AI entrepreneurs targeting practical, everyday applications rather than just cutting-edge technology, demonstrating how AI is being applied to democratize services previously available only to wealthy individuals.
When I shared the news with my colleagues, the response was a mix of surprise, support, and a large amount of jealousy. A lot of people want to leave and start their own thing, but for various reasons they can’t or won’t.
White revealed his Meta colleagues’ reactions to his resignation. This quote exposes underlying dissatisfaction among Big Tech AI workers and suggests that many talented engineers are contemplating similar moves but face barriers, indicating potential future talent drain from major tech companies.
At the end of the day, I want to take the swing.
White’s closing statement encapsulates his entrepreneurial mindset despite acknowledging significant barriers including regulatory challenges, customer acquisition difficulties, and well-resourced competitors. This reflects the risk-taking mentality driving the current wave of AI startup formation.
Our Take
White’s journey represents a pivotal moment in the AI talent wars. His willingness to leave Meta’s AI team after just one year—despite positive experiences—signals that Big Tech’s traditional advantages (resources, compensation, prestige) may no longer be sufficient to retain top AI talent seeking entrepreneurial fulfillment.
What’s particularly noteworthy is the financial planning niche he’s targeting with AI. This suggests the AI startup landscape is maturing beyond foundational models and developer tools toward practical consumer applications. The bootstrapping approach also indicates that AI startups may not require massive capital to launch, thanks to increasingly accessible AI infrastructure and tools.
The “jealousy” White encountered from colleagues hints at a broader retention crisis brewing in Big Tech AI divisions. As AI capabilities become more democratized and startup success stories multiply, we may see accelerating talent exodus from established companies. This could paradoxically strengthen the overall AI ecosystem while challenging Big Tech’s dominance in AI innovation.
Why This Matters
This story highlights a significant trend in the AI industry: experienced engineers leaving prestigious Big Tech positions to build AI-focused startups. White’s departure from Meta after less than a year demonstrates how the allure of AI entrepreneurship is compelling even well-compensated professionals to take substantial risks.
The narrative underscores the democratization of AI technology, where individual founders believe they can compete with tech giants by applying AI to underserved markets like personal finance. This reflects broader industry dynamics where AI tools have become accessible enough for bootstrapped startups to build sophisticated products.
White’s story also reveals the talent retention challenges facing Big Tech companies in the AI era. Despite offering world-class resources and compensation, these companies struggle to satisfy engineers seeking more meaningful work or entrepreneurial freedom. His colleagues’ “jealousy” suggests widespread dissatisfaction among Big Tech AI workers who feel constrained.
For the broader economy, this represents how AI is reshaping career trajectories and enabling new business models. The fact that White specifically left Google because it didn’t offer enough AI focus, then left Meta’s AI team to build his own AI company, illustrates how rapidly AI has become the central focus of tech innovation and career ambitions.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-meta-google-employee-quit-build-ai-startup-shares-advice-2026-1