Noam Shazeer Leaves Google for OpenAI Less Than Two Years After $2.7 Billion Return Deal
11 Sources
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OpenAI gets the attention it needs from AI researcher Noam Shazeer
Shazeer, who contributed key insights to the development of today's AI models, is transferring from Google. An IT executive changing jobs usually attracts little attention outside a narrow group of people, but Noam Shazeer's move from Google to OpenAI is as momentous as any high-value soccer
[2]
Google Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer leaves for OpenAI
In August 2024, Google brought back Shazeer and fellow researcher Daniel De Freitas to its DeepMind AI unit. Google's vice president of engineering and a co-lead of its Gemini AI models Noam Shazeer announced Wednesday that he was leaving the company to join OpenAI. "I'm excited to share that
[3]
Google's Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer is leaving for OpenAI
Less than two years after Google reportedly paid $2.7bn to bring him back, the transformer co-inventor is switching sides. Noam Shazeer is leaving Google for OpenAI. The man widely credited as a principal architect of Google's Gemini models and a co-author of the 2017 transformer paper that
[4]
Top AI researcher leaves Google for OpenAI
Why it matters: This shows the limits of acqui-hires, in which the most valuable assets can walk out the door once retention periods end. * Shazeer also is viewed as one of AI's top researchers, particularly in the area of pretraining, and was co-lead of Google's Gemini. Go deeper, via The
[5]
Google's Noam Shazeer leaving organisation to join rival OpenAI
The prominent researcher is jumping ship at a critical point in the global race to develop the world's most powerful AI technologies. Noam Shazeer, the vice-president of engineering at Google and the Gemini AI model co-lead, has announced that he will be leaving the organisation in order to join
[6]
Noam Shazeer hired by Google for $2.7 billion in 2024 leaves the tech giant in less than 18 months to join Sam Altman's Open AI
Noam Shazeer, a key figure in Google's Gemini AI development, is departing the company. He will now join rival OpenAI. Shazeer previously left Google in 2021 and returned in 2024 through a significant licensing deal. His departure has sparked considerable discussion regarding its impact on Google's
[7]
Google Gemini Co-Lead Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Google Gemini Co-Lead Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI -- Sam Altman Says It's '10 Years' In The Making Noam Shazeer, Vice President of Engineering and Gemini co-lead at Google DeepMind, announced Wednesday he is leaving to join OpenAI. Sharing the news on X, Shazeer wrote, "I'm excited to share that
[8]
Google's $2.7 Billion AI Rehire Noam Shazeer Moves to OpenAI in Latest Talent Battle
While the rest of the world grapples with fears of job loss, AI talent is in an enviable position. Last year, in a bid to boost its AI efforts, Mark Zuckerberg led Meta to acquire Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead its Superintelligence Lab. Noam Shazeer, the vice president of engineering and
[9]
Google Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join OpenAI By Investing.com
Investing.com -- Noam Shazeer, a vice president of engineering at Google and co-lead of its Gemini artificial intelligence models, announced Wednesday that he will leave the company to join ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The move comes amid heightened compeititon among leading AI firms to snap up key
[10]
Google Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join IPO-bound OpenAI
June 17 (Reuters) - Noam Shazeer, a vice president of engineering at Google and co-lead of its Gemini artificial intelligence models, said on Wednesday that he will leave the company to join IPO-bound ChatGPT maker OpenAI. o Shazeer's move comes as leading AI firms compete for talent while racing
[11]
Google's Gemini co-lead quits, to join OpenAI: Reports
Shazeer co-authored the influential 2017 transformer research paper Noam Shazeer, vice president of engineering at Google and co-lead of its Gemini AI models, announced on Wednesday that he is leaving the company to join OpenAI. He shared the news in a post on X. "I'm excited to share that I'll be
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Noam Shazeer, Google's vice president of engineering and Gemini AI models co-lead, announced he's joining OpenAI. The move comes less than two years after Google reportedly paid $2.7 billion to bring him back from Character.AI. As a co-author of the influential transformer paper, his departure highlights the intense competition for top AI talent and raises questions about retention strategies.
Google Gemini Co-Lead Makes Unexpected Move to OpenAI
Noam Shazeer announced Wednesday that he's leaving Google to join OpenAI, marking one of the most significant moves in the ongoing AI talent war
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. "I'm excited to share that I'll be joining OpenAI and look forward to working with the exceptional team there," Shazeer said in a post on X1
. The departure is particularly striking given its timing: Noam Shazeer returned to Google less than two years ago in a deal that reportedly cost the company around $2.7 billion3
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Source: Analytics Insight
Top AI Researcher Leaves Google Despite Massive Retention Deal
The speed of Shazeer's exit raises serious questions about the effectiveness of acqui-hires, where the most valuable assets can walk out once retention periods end
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. In August 2024, Google brought back Shazeer and fellow researcher Daniel De Freitas to its DeepMind AI unit as part of a partnership with startup Character.AI, which the pair founded after leaving Google in 20212
. The two had initially left Google after it declined to aggressively pursue a chatbot project they had championed . To lose him again this quickly to the company Google most directly competes with represents the kind of talent loss that enormous sums were supposed to prevent3
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Source: InfoWorld
Transformer Technology Pioneer Keeps Joining OpenAI's Research Efforts
Noam Shazeer is one of the eight co-authors of the influential AI paper "Attention Is All You Need," published when he was working at Google Brain
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. He is also one of the creators of the transformer technology that lies at the heart of modern AI models1
. The transformer architecture underpins virtually every modern large language model, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini AI models . According to reports, Shazeer will act as OpenAI's lead for AI architecture research, where he will study how to build models5
. Sam Altman explained that he had wanted to work with Shazeer "since the very beginning of OpenAI," joking that it "only took 10 years" and would be "worth the wait"5
.Related Stories
Competition for Top AI Talent Intensifies Ahead of IPO Plans
OpenAI gains Shazeer at a critical moment. The company confidentially filed for an initial public offering earlier this month, setting the stage for one of the most closely watched technology listings in recent years
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. Noam Shazeer joins OpenAI ahead of the company's anticipated plans to transition into a confidential IPO filing and ahead of Anthropic's plans to become an IPO5
. According to The Information, "Shazeer's hiring is a major win for OpenAI in the AI talent wars, as OpenAI competes to catch up with archrival Anthropic's most advanced models ahead of the two companies' hotly anticipated IPOs"4
. The high-profile shift in AI underscores the intense battle for top AI talent, which has become a key front in competition among technology companies .
Source: Market Screener
What This Means for AI Research and Development
Shazeer is viewed as one of AI's top researchers, particularly in the area of pretraining, and was co-lead of Google's Gemini
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. For Google, the loss lands amid an intensifying contest with OpenAI and Anthropic across the enterprise AI stack . The departure also comes weeks after Google unveiled new AI products, including its Gemini 3.5 Flash model and Gemini Spark AI agent, at its annual I/O developer conference . The Gemini models are central to Google's AI strategy, which makes the exit of one of their co-leads more than a routine personnel matter . His departure suggests money buys presence but not permanence, and that the pull of a company seen as the field's frontier can outweigh a nine-figure reason to stay3
. A Google spokesperson said, "We are grateful for Noam's meaningful contributions to Google over the years and we wish him well"5
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