Noam Shazeer, who helped Google's Gemini narrow the gap with ChatGPT, is leaving for IPO-bound OpenAI, raising questions about Google's AI talent retention.
Alpha Score of 72 reflects strong overall profile with moderate momentum, strong value, strong quality, moderate sentiment.
Noam Shazeer, the engineer Google tapped in 2024 to co-lead its Gemini AI model development, is leaving for OpenAI. The move comes as OpenAI is widely expected to pursue an initial public offering, putting a premium on senior technical hires who can accelerate product roadmaps.
Shazeer was credited inside Google with helping Gemini close the performance gap with OpenAI's ChatGPT, according to people familiar with the matter. Before joining Google, he founded the AI startup Character.AI and earlier worked at Google on the Transformer architecture that underpins modern large language models. His return to Google last year was seen as a sign the company was serious about catching up in the consumer AI race.
His departure deprives Google of one of the few engineers who has shipped both foundational research and a competitive consumer product. Google's Gemini effort has been marked by organizational churn. The model launched in late 2023 to mixed reviews, and subsequent updates have narrowed the gap on benchmarks but not erased the perception that OpenAI leads in user engagement and developer ecosystem.
For OpenAI, Shazeer brings a track record of moving quickly. At Character.AI he built a chatbot with millions of users, and at Google he worked on systems that serve billions. The hire gives OpenAI more depth in conversational AI just as it prepares to expand its product lineup ahead of an IPO that bankers expect could value the company above $300 billion.
The lateral move is the latest in a series of high-profile transfers between the two labs. OpenAI has hired several former Google researchers in the past two years, while Google has poached OpenAI veterans. The competition for talent has pushed compensation packages for top AI researchers above $10 million a year, including equity.
Google has not named a replacement for Shazeer on the Gemini team. A spokesperson declined to comment on the departure. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.