Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is stepping down, but will remain with the company
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Google DeepMind's leadership reshuffle has concluded with co-founder and long-serving chief executive Demis Hassabis moving into the newly created role of chairman while also taking on the title of Alphabet chief scientist. The changes form part of a broader shake-up of Google's AI operations, including the recent disbandment of the Nobel Prize-winning AlphaFold team that Hassabis had been part of, as the company works to keep pace with rivals OpenAI and Anthropic.
Koray Kavukcuoglu, DeepMind's chief technology officer, becomes senior vice-president and now oversees day-to-day operations, reporting directly to Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai. Hassabis's chief scientist title became available after incumbent Jeff Dean departed to launch a startup called Discovery Loop, focused on self-improving AI models, taking several colleagues with him; Google is investing an undisclosed sum in the venture and will serve as its cloud provider. Hassabis will continue to lead pharmaceutical AI spinoff Isomorphic Labs. Separately, Google has also committed up to $40 billion (£31 billion) to Anthropic, having already invested $10 billion in April with a further $30 billion tied to performance milestones.
- Hassabis becomes DeepMind chairman and Alphabet chief scientist, not CEO
- Kavukcuoglu takes over daily operations as senior VP, reports to Pichai
- Jeff Dean exits to launch AI startup Discovery Loop, backed by Google
New here? Start with this
Google DeepMind is the AI research arm of Google's parent company, Alphabet, and has been behind some of the firm's most high-profile artificial intelligence work, including the protein-structure prediction system AlphaFold, which won its creators a Nobel Prize. Demis Hassabis co-founded the company in 2010 and has led it ever since, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the AI industry as it merged with Google's other AI teams in 2023.
The reshuffle sits within a broader contest between Google and rival AI developers OpenAI and Anthropic, all racing to build ever more capable AI systems. Google has faced questions about whether its internal structure is keeping pace with competitors, and has recently reorganised parts of its AI division and moved to deepen its financial ties with Anthropic, one of the very companies it is competing against.
Alphabet is the umbrella company that owns Google, DeepMind and various other ventures, and is run by chief executive Sundar Pichai. Understanding who reports to whom, and how roles such as chief executive, chairman and chief scientist differ, helps explain why changes at the top of DeepMind matter beyond the company itself, touching on Alphabet's wider AI strategy and its relationships with rivals and partners.