OpenAI Hires Google Executive Albert Lee to Lead Corporate Development and Acquisitions Push

OpenAI poaches Google executive to lead corporate development

Lee previously led corporate development for Google Cloud and Google DeepMind. He worked on several of Google's high-profile acquisitions, including its $32 billion purchase of the cloud security startup Wiz, which the company announced in March. In his new role, Lee will have broad visibility across OpenAI as the company focuses on strategic investments and M&A in its next phase of growth, the spokesperson said. His hiring signals that OpenAI will continue to hunt for targets that can help it gain an edge over rivals like Google and Anthropic. OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit research lab in 2015, but its valuation has ballooned to $500 billion since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. The AI lab has made multiple acquisitions this year. Most recently, OpenAI earlier this month announced a definitive agreement to acquire Neptune, a startup that helps with AI model training. The companies did not disclose the terms. OpenAI also bought a small company called Software Applications Incorporated for an undisclosed sum in October, the product development startup Statsig for $1.1 billion in September and former Apple designer Jony Ive's AI devices startup io for more than $6 billion in May. Lee is the latest of several executives to join OpenAI as the company looks to fill out its leadership bench.

Is OpenAI Entering Its Acquisition Era?

OpenAI has been on a hiring spree. Will it lead to an acquiring spree? On Monday, the company reportedly poached Google's senior director of corporate development Albert Lee. The executive led corporate development for Google Cloud and DeepMind for more than 14 years, and oversaw dozens of top acquisitions worth more than $50 billion in value, per his LinkedIn profile. Lee will lead corporate development at OpenAI, and OpenAI is hoping he will be "a senior leader with broad visibility across the company who is empowered to move quickly,"Â an OpenAI spokesperson told Reuters. Monday's announcement comes on the heels of two more major recruitments to the business side of OpenAI that were announced this month. Just last week, OpenAI announced that Slack CEO Denise Dresser would be joining the company as its new chief revenue officer. The week prior to that, Torben Severson, chief of staff to CEO of Amazon's global retail operations, announced that he had joined OpenAI as vice president and head of global business development. Could the fact that OpenAI went for a top corporate development executive at competitor Google perhaps signal that the company will have a 2026 full of acquisitions? Though only time will tell if that will be for sure be the case, the signs are already pointing towards steadily accelerating dealmaking at the company. 2025 has already been an unusually active year for acquisitions and dealmaking for OpenAI. The company has counted at least five major acquisitions in this year alone, and that's not counting the acqui-hires. Earlier this month, the company agreed to acquire the startup Neptune, whose product offerings help AI companies with training models. In October OpenAI acquired both Software Applications Incorporated, and personal investing startup Roi. In September, OpenAI's web of acquisitions got a hold of software experimentation company Statsig in a $1.1 billion deal, and in May the company bought former Apple chief designer Jony Ive's AI devices startup io in a $6.4 billion deal. And then there are all the strategic partnerships that OpenAI counted this year, including an unprecedented $100 billion investment from Nvidia (that it turns out has not yet been fully finalized). The company's web of dealmaking has been so tightly woven this year that it sparked widespread worries of circular dealmaking and of catastrophic consequences if indeed a feared AI bubble burst. Also potentially on the docket for the new year is a flashy OpenAI initial public offering. The company finalized its recapitalization process end of October, and officially became a for-profit corporation. Shortly after, a Reuters report said that OpenAI was planning an IPO that could be valued up to $1 trillion that could come as early as the second half of 2026.

OpenAI hires Google dealmaker Albert Lee for M&A

OpenAI hired Google executive Albert Lee to lead corporate development at the artificial intelligence company. A spokesperson confirmed the hire to CNBC, stating Lee will have broad visibility across OpenAI as it focuses on strategic investments and mergers and acquisitions during its next growth phase. Lee previously led corporate development for Google Cloud and Google DeepMind. At Google, he worked on several high-profile acquisitions, including the company's $32 billion purchase of cloud security startup Wiz, announced in March. OpenAI, founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab, reached a valuation of $500 billion following the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. The company has pursued multiple acquisitions amid its expansion. Earlier this month, OpenAI announced a definitive agreement to acquire Neptune, a startup that assists with AI model training; the companies did not disclose terms. In October 2023, OpenAI acquired Software Applications Incorporated, a small company, for an undisclosed sum. The prior month, in September 2023, OpenAI purchased product-development startup Statsig for $1.1 billion. Earlier, in May 2023, OpenAI bought io, the AI-devices startup founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, for more than $6 billion. Lee represents the latest executive addition as OpenAI builds its leadership team. Earlier this month, the company named Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its chief revenue officer. In May 2024, OpenAI appointed Fidji Simo, then CEO of Instacart, to head its applications business.

OpenAI hires veteran Google executive as corporate development VP

Dec 15 (Reuters) - OpenAI on Monday confirmed that it has appointed Albert Lee, senior director of corporate development at Google, as its vice president of corporate development. Lee will start his role at Microsoft-backed OpenAI on Tuesday and report to finance chief Sarah Friar. The goal of bringing Lee "on board is to ensure we have a senior leader with broad visibility across the company who is empowered to move quickly," an OpenAI spokesperson told Reuters. At Alphabet's Google, Lee had been leading corporate development for Google Cloud and DeepMind, and the strategy and scouting team. Since he joined the company in 2011, Lee has worked on over 60 transactions spanning acquisitions and strategic investments totaling more than $50 billion, according to his LinkedIn profile. The Information was the first to report Lee's move earlier in the day. His hiring follows OpenAI's recruitment of former Amazon executive Torben Severson as its new vice president and head of global business development last month. OpenAI in September hired Mike Liberatore, former finance chief at Elon Musk's xAI, as the artificial intelligence startup's business finance officer. Lee is also on the advisory board of Alphabet's independent growth fund, CapitalG, which has invested in companies such as CrowdStrike and Airbnb. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City and Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)