Google Appoints Former Character.AI Co-Founder as Co-Lead of Gemini AI Models

Google Puts Character.AI Co-founder On Gemini: Reports

Google recruited Noam Shazeer in a funding and licensing deal. Google has named Noam Shazeer, the Character.AI CEO and co-founder recruited in a funding deal with the startup, as a technical lead on its Gemini artificial intelligence project, according to multiple media reports. The Mountain View, Calif.-based cloud and AI vendor will have Shazeer work with researchers Oriol Vinyals and Jeff Dean to improve Gemini as Google goes toe-to-toe with competitive offerings from Microsoft and OpenAI, according to The Information. Google paid billions of dollars to Character to recruit Shazeer and other employees and to form a licensing agreement related to AI, according to Reuters. [RELATED: Google Gets Character.AI Co-founders In New Deal] In the deal, which happened earlier this month, Google also got Daniel De Freitas, the startup's president. Character.AI was formed in 2022. Google has been reportedly investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Character even as it invests billions into fellow AI startup Anthropic. During Google's most recent quarterly earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai said there are now more than 1.5 million developers using Gemini across Google's developer tools and that "Gemini is making Google's own products better."

AI startup founder who Google rehired is appointed co-lead of Gemini AI models - Times of India

Noam Shazeer, the founder of Character.AI and a seasoned Google researcher who was rehired by the tech giant, has been appointed as a technical co-lead on Gemini, Google's flagship AI project. Google reportedly paid billions to bring him and other employees into DeepMind and to secure a licensing agreement with Character.AI. Citing a company memo sent to the staff, a report by news agency Reuters said that Shazeer will serve as a technical lead on Gemini, joining the other co-leaders Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals. Gemini is a large language model developed by Google's AI division DeepMind and has a series of AI models that are either available through Gemini chatbot/ app or as a feature into products like Search and Pixel smartphones. "We are thrilled to join the best team on earth building the most valuable technology on earth," Shazeer wrote in an email reply to the memo, as per Reuters. Google welcomed back Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas Recently, Shazeer returned to Google along with Daniel De Freitas, after a stint at Character.AI they co-founded in 2021. "We're particularly thrilled to welcome back Noam, a preeminent researcher in machine learning, who is joining Google DeepMind's research team, along with a small number of his colleagues," a Google spokesperson told Reuters previously. "This agreement will provide increased funding for Character.AI to continue growing and to focus on building personalised Al products for users around the world," the Google spokesperson added. Meanwhile, he expressed excitement about returning and collaborating with Google DeepMind. "I'm proud of what we built together," he said. Shazeer's initial tenure at Google began in 2000, where he co-authored a 2017 research paper that sparked the current AI boom. Character.AI, which leverages those technical advancements, has raised $193 million and was valued at $1 billion last year. Though Google considered investing in Character.AI, they instead opted to rehire Shazeer. This move mirrors similar strategies by Amazon and Microsoft to acquire top AI talent. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.

Google appoints former Character. AI founder as co-lead of its AI models

Google has appointed Noam Shazeer, the former head of startup Character. AI and before that a long-time Google researcher, to co-lead its main AI project. Shazeer will serve as a technical lead on Gemini, joining the other co-leaders Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals, the company said in a memo to staff. Gemini is the line of AI models being developed by DeepMind, Google's AI division, and which are being integrated into products such as Search and Pixel smartphones. Shazeer recently rejoined Google from the chatbot maker he founded in 2021 with the U.S. tech giant paying billions to bring him and a handful of other employees into DeepMind and to strike a licensing agreement with Character.AI. "We are thrilled to join the best team on earth building the most valuable technology on earth," Shazeer wrote in an email reply to the memo which was seen by Reuters. The memo was first reported by The Information. Shazeer first joined Google in 2000, two years after its inception, and was a co-author of a seminal 2017 research paper which catalyzed the current AI boom. Character. AI utilises the technical advancements pioneered in the paper. It has raised $193 million and was valued at $1 billion last year by venture capitalists. Google was in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character. AI, reported in November, but instead decided to bring Shazeer back in. The deal, which resembles similar moves by Amazon and Microsoft to nab top talent from AI startups, comes at a time when the Big Tech companies are facing regulatory scrutiny. Though they are not acquisitions, the other two deals are nevertheless being examined by the Federal Trade Commission. This month, a U.S. judge ruled that Google's search engine violated antitrust law, spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly.

Google appoints former Character.AI founder as co-lead of its AI models

Google has appointed Noam Shazeer, the former head of startup Character.AI and before that a long-time Google researcher, to co-lead its main AI project. Shazeer will serve as a technical lead on Gemini, joining the other co-leaders Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals, the company said in a memo to staff. Gemini is the line of AI models being developed by DeepMind, Google's AI division, and which are being integrated into products such as Search and Pixel smartphones. (For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today's Cache) Shazeer recently rejoined Google from the chatbot maker he founded in 2021 with the U.S. tech giant paying billions to bring him and a handful of other employees into DeepMind and to strike a licensing agreement with Character.AI. "We are thrilled to join the best team on earth building the most valuable technology on earth," Shazeer wrote in an email reply to the memo which was seen by Reuters. The memo was first reported by The Information. Shazeer first joined Google in 2000, two years after its inception, and was a co-author of a seminal 2017 research paper which catalyzed the current AI boom. Character.AI utilizes the technical advancements pioneered in the paper. It has raised $193 million and was valued at $1 billion last year by venture capitalists. Breaking up Google an option being considered by U.S.: Report Google was in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character.AI, Reuters reported in November, but instead decided to bring Shazeer back in. The deal, which resembles similar moves by Amazon and Microsoft to nab top talent from AI startups, comes at a time when the Big Tech companies are facing regulatory scrutiny. Though they are not acquisitions, the other two deals are nevertheless being examined by the Federal Trade Commission. This month, a U.S. judge ruled that Google's search engine violated antitrust law, spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly. Read Comments

Google Appoints Former Character.AI Founder as Co-Lead of Its AI Models

SAN FRANCISCO - Google has appointed Noam Shazeer, the former head of startup Character.AI and before that a long-time Google researcher, to co-lead its main AI project. Shazeer will serve as a technical lead on Gemini, joining the other co-leaders Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals, the company said in a memo to staff. Gemini is the line of AI models being developed by DeepMind, Google's AI division, and which are being integrated into products such as Search and Pixel smartphones. Shazeer recently rejoined Google from the chatbot maker he founded in 2021 with the U.S. tech giant paying billions to bring him and a handful of other employees into DeepMind and to strike a licensing agreement with Character.AI. "We are thrilled to join the best team on earth building the most valuable technology on earth," Shazeer wrote in an email reply to the memo which was seen by Reuters. The memo was first reported by The Information. Shazeer first joined Google in 2000, two years after its inception, and was a co-author of a seminal 2017 research paper which catalyzed the current AI boom. Character.AI utilizes the technical advancements pioneered in the paper. It has raised $193 million and was valued at $1 billion last year by venture capitalists. Google was in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character.AI, Reuters reported in November, but instead decided to bring Shazeer back in. The deal, which resembles similar moves by Amazon and Microsoft to nab top talent from AI startups, comes at a time when the Big Tech companies are facing regulatory scrutiny. Though they are not acquisitions, the other two deals are nevertheless being examined by the Federal Trade Commission. This month, a U.S. judge ruled that Google's search engine violated antitrust law, spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly. (Reporting by Kenrick Cai in San Francisco; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Google appoints former Character.AI founder as co-lead of its AI models

Gemini is the line of AI models being developed by DeepMind, Google's AI division, and which are being integrated into products such as Search and Pixel smartphones. Shazeer recently rejoined Google from the chatbot maker he founded in 2021 with the U.S. tech giant paying billions to bring him and a handful of other employees into DeepMind and to strike a licensing agreement with Character.AI. "We are thrilled to join the best team on earth building the most valuable technology on earth," Shazeer wrote in an email reply to the memo which was seen by Reuters. Shazeer first joined Google in 2000, two years after its inception, and was a co-author of a seminal 2017 research paper which catalyzed the current AI boom. Character.AI utilizes the technical advancements pioneered in the paper. It has raised $193 million and was valued at $1 billion last year by venture capitalists. Google was in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character.AI, Reuters reported in November, but instead decided to bring Shazeer back in. The deal, which resembles similar moves by Amazon and Microsoft to nab top talent from AI startups, comes at a time when the Big Tech companies are facing regulatory scrutiny. Though they are not acquisitions, the other two deals are nevertheless being examined by the Federal Trade Commission. This month, a U.S. judge ruled that Google's search engine violated antitrust law, spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly. (Reporting by Kenrick Cai in San Francisco; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)