Google Gemini Co-Lead Noam Shazeer to Join IPO-Bound OpenAI
The move comes less than two years after Google brought him back to its DeepMind AI unit with fellow researcher Daniel De Freitas.
- On Wednesday, Google Vice President of Engineering and Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer announced his departure to join OpenAI, confirming the move through a post on X.
- Shazeer is leaving less than two years after Google paid about $2.7 billion to re-acquire his startup, Character.ai, in 2024, which he co-founded with Daniel De Freitas.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman remarked on X that Shazeer is "one of the people I have most wanted to work with" since OpenAI's inception, adding recruitment "only took 10 years."
- In a statement to Reuters, Google noted it is grateful for Shazeer's contributions, as the industry faces intense competition to secure elite AI researchers for proprietary models.
- The hire follows OpenAI's confidential IPO filing earlier this month, positioning the ChatGPT-maker to compete aggressively for top talent amid the broader AI industry reshuffling.
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Jim Cramer Calls Noam Shazeer's Jump to OpenAI a 'Coup' as the AI Talent War Heats Up
Jim Cramer used his Mad Dash segment on June 18, 2026 to flag what he sees as a serious shift in the AI talent war. Noam Shazeer, co-lead of Google’s Gemini effort and co-founder of Character AI, is leaving Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG | GOOG Price Prediction ,NASDAQ:GOOGL) to join OpenAI. Cramer’s read was blunt. He said: “This is ... Jim Cramer Calls Noam Shazeer’s Jump to OpenAI a ‘Coup’ as the AI Talent War Heats Up
Competition among global artificial intelligence (AI) companies to recruit talent is intensifying. OpenAI recently hired a key figure who led the development of Google's Gemini, along with an AI advisor from the White House. As the generative AI market enters a mature phase, companies are focusing on securing business personnel alongside top-tier researchers to advance their technology.
Google AI leader Noam Shazeer leaves company for OpenAI
The AI talent wars are raging on. Two years after Google paid $2.7 billion to poach leading AI researcher Noam Shazeer and part of his team at Character.AI, Shazeer is leaving the company to join OpenAI. Shazeer worked at Google as the vice president of engineering and co-lead of Gemini, where he was credited for helping close the gap between Gemini and ChatGPT’s capabilities. “I’m excited to share that I’ll be joining OpenAI and look forward …
New talent theft in the strategic world of artificial intelligence (AI). Thus, one of Google's leading researchers is going to leave for OpenAI, one of its main rivals in this segment, which is a strong setback for Alphabet in the multi-million-dollar race to create the world's most powerful AI models.
Google Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join IPO-bound OpenAI
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