Oh Meta 100% has some sort of non-compete in writing, especially after his lawsuit with Bethesda when he left Id to work at Oculus[1].

[1] https://www.pcgamer.com/zenimax-accuses-john-carmack-of-thef...

There is absolutely no such thing as a non-compete in California.

He lives in Texas still

I really doubt Carmack would decide his life based on NDAs or non-competes.

There is when equity changes hands, which will have been the case with Carmack.

No. Everyone is given equity in Silicon Valley.

See x3n0ph3n3's comment upthread.

There is for C-suite employees.

They are actually permissable in circumstances similar to John Carmack's:

> California employers can sidestep non-competes in the following instances:

> EXCEPTION 1: If the employee sells business goodwill

> EXCEPTION 2: If the owner sells his or her business interests

> EXCEPTION 3: If the owner sells all operating and goodwill assets

> Upon the business’ dissolution, a member of the company may agree to a non-compete if operating a similar business in the geographic area. Goodwill is the company’s name and brand reputation. Employees with stock options are not considered company owners for purposes of non-competition agreements.

https://www.contractscounsel.com/b/non-compete-california

They don't exactly need a non-compete (those are hard to enforce in CA anyway), they can just buy any up-and-coming VR companies. And they do.

You don’t need a noncompete when any investor is going to be scared that a major company will sue over “pilfered secrets”.

Combine that with being burned out and I can see trying something else.