Google’s AI leadership shakeup moves Demis Hassabis out of the day-to-day chief executive role at Google DeepMind and gives Koray Kavukcuoglu, its former chief technology officer, responsibility for running the unit’s daily work. The changes redraw who operates Google’s central AI lab while sending several of its best-known researchers into a Google-backed startup.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said Hassabis will become Google DeepMind chairman and Alphabet’s newly created chief scientist. Kavukcuoglu becomes senior vice president of DeepMind, reports to Pichai, and keeps his parallel job as Alphabet’s chief AI architect, according to Reuters.
What does the Google AI leadership shakeup change?
Kavukcuoglu will take on DeepMind’s day-to-day responsibilities as an SVP rather than CEO. Hassabis shifts to a chairman role and an Alphabet-wide science post, with a remit that includes research and strategy around AGI and its societal effects, Reuters reported. A Google spokesperson told Reuters that he will have few direct reports.
Pichai said the new arrangement would let Hassabis focus on shaping the future of AGI. That is Alphabet’s stated rationale, not an explanation independently established by the company: Alphabet gave no details about what prompted the moves or why they were announced together.
Hassabis will also remain founder and CEO of Isomorphic Labs, the drug-discovery company spun out of DeepMind. In a staff message reported by The Verge, he said he intends to spend more time there, while continuing to work with Pichai on strategic and global AGI matters and advising Kavukcuoglu and DeepMind leaders. Hassabis said he sees improving human health as AI’s most important application.
Who is leaving Google to form Discovery Loop?
Jeff Dean, Sanjay Ghemawat, Oriol Vinyals and Quoc Le are leaving Google to launch Discovery Loop, a public-benefit corporation focused on machine learning, science and engineering, Reuters reported. Dean had been Google DeepMind’s chief scientist, while Ghemawat was a Google Fellow.
Google will be a founding investor in Discovery Loop, Pichai said. Reuters also reported that the company has a Google Cloud partnership for computing capacity. The investment and cloud deal keep Google commercially connected to a venture created by four senior people leaving its AI operation.
How does this fit into Google’s recent AI moves?
Google created Google DeepMind in 2023 by combining DeepMind with the Google Brain group, appointing Hassabis CEO and Dean chief scientist. The unit became the company’s main home for advanced model work.
The overhaul arrives as Google faces pressure around its model pipeline. Reuters reported that the flagship version of its latest Gemini model had not arrived after a planned June launch. It also reported that Noam Shazeer left for OpenAI and John Jumper left for Anthropic in June. Reuters did not report that those developments caused the restructuring, and Alphabet has not disclosed a cause.
For users of Google’s AI products, the announcement does not describe an immediate product change. It does establish a new operating chain at DeepMind, while moving Hassabis toward longer-range research, strategy and Isomorphic Labs.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
