Noam Shazeer, co-lead of Google's Gemini models, leaves for OpenAI less than two years after returning via a Character.AI deal. The move raises questions about Google's AI talent retention as OpenAI prepares for its IPO.
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Noam Shazeer, Google's vice president of engineering and a co-lead of its Gemini AI models, said Wednesday he is leaving the company to join OpenAI.
"I'm excited to share that I'll be joining OpenAI and look forward to working with the exceptional team there," Shazeer wrote in a post on X. "It was a difficult decision to move on."
Shazeer's move comes less than two years after Google brought him back. In August 2024, the search giant rehired Shazeer and fellow researcher Daniel De Freitas as part of a partnership with Character.AI, a startup the pair founded after leaving Google in 2021. The two had originally left because Google declined to aggressively pursue a chatbot project they championed. Character.AI became one of the most prominent AI startups.
His jump to OpenAI is the latest high-profile defection between the two companies. The ChatGPT maker confidentially filed for an initial public offering earlier this month, setting up one of the most closely watched tech listings in years. Landing a researcher of Shazeer's stature bolsters OpenAI's technical bench ahead of its IPO roadshow.
Shazeer is a well-known figure in the field. His papers on transformers and large language models underpin much of today's generative AI. The timing places him at OpenAI as it prepares for a potential public listing, giving it a name it can highlight to investors.
Google, meanwhile, last month unveiled a slate of new AI products at its I/O developer conference, including the Gemini 3.5 Flash model and the Gemini Spark AI agent. Shazeer had been co-leading the Gemini effort.
For Google, the loss cuts deeper because it comes after the company paid to reacquire Shazeer through the Character.AI deal. That arrangement gave Google access to the startup's technology and talent. The talent component now looks less durable.
Shazeer's departure is the latest sign of an intense battle for top AI researchers. Both companies are pouring resources into foundation models, and retaining senior engineers has become a key front in competition.
– CNBC's Jennifer Elias contributed to this report.
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