Google is making changes to its AI leadership team, according to BlockBeats on Aug. 6. Jeff Dean, one of Google’s earliest employees and a key figure behind the company’s artificial intelligence strategy over the past 15 years, is leaving the company to launch a startup focused on scientific discovery.
Dean joined Google in 1999 as the company’s 30th employee. He is set to become chief executive of a new public-benefit company called Discovery Loop. The company’s stated goal is to speed up technological progress by automating complex, multi-step scientific and engineering tasks.
Senior Google researchers join the new venture
Dean will be joined by longtime Google employees Oriol Vinyals, Quoc Le, and Sanjay Ghemawat. BlockBeats said the four have collectively driven important advances in mathematics and protein structure, and are among the most-cited researchers globally.
The departure of Dean and the others adds to Google’s recent trend of AI talent leaving the company.
Demis Hassabis moves into new roles
At the same time, Google DeepMind Chief Executive Officer Demis Hassabis is changing positions. He will step down from day-to-day operational duties and become chairman of Google DeepMind, while also taking on the role of Chief Scientist at Alphabet. He will continue to lead Isomorphic Labs.
Hassabis is one of the best-known figures in artificial intelligence. He co-founded DeepMind in 2010 and continued to lead the team after Google acquired the company in 2014. In recent years, he has overseen DeepMind’s work in foundation models, AI research, and scientific computing.
DeepMind remains central to Google’s AI strategy
Under Hassabis, DeepMind launched high-profile AI projects including AlphaGo and AlphaFold, becoming a core part of Google’s broader AI strategy.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Google fell 3% in short-term trading.