London, United Kingdom – Sir Demis Hassabis is stepping down as chief executive of Google DeepMind, in a leadership overhaul of the UK-based AI research lab that has sent shockwaves through the tech industry and triggered a 4% drop in Alphabet's share price.
Hassabis, a Nobel prize recipient, is leaving his main managerial role to become chair of DeepMind – as well as taking on the new position of chief scientist at Alphabet, which is Google's parent company. DeepMind will now be led by Koray Kavukcuoglu, its chief technology officer, under the title of senior vice-president.
London-born Hassabis, 50, has been a totemic figure in AI's breakthrough era, co-founding DeepMind in 2010 and selling it for £400m to Google four years later. His efforts led to him winning the 2024 Nobel prize in chemistry for breakthroughs in predicting and designing the structure of proteins, via DeepMind's AlphaFold model.
Key developments:
- Leadership change: Demis Hassabis steps down as DeepMind CEO, becomes chair
- New chief scientist: Hassabis takes on chief scientist role at Alphabet
- New CEO: Koray Kavukcuoglu promoted to lead DeepMind
- Senior departures: Veteran engineers Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat leaving to launch startup
- Stock impact: Alphabet shares closed down 4% on Wednesday
- AGI focus: Hassabis says artificial general intelligence is "close at hand"
- Competition concerns: Google falling behind rivals Anthropic and OpenAI
- Nobel laureate: Hassabis won 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold
- New startup: Discovery Loop founded by departing Google engineers
- Isomorphic Labs: Hassabis remains CEO of drug discovery spinoff
Hassabis said on Wednesday he had been working towards artificial general intelligence (AGI) – a theoretical state where a system can match a human at any cognitive task – and felt it was "close at hand".
Adding it was critical to ensure the achievement of AGI "goes well for humanity", he said: "I've decided that now is the right time for me to hand over my day-to-day operational responsibilities at GDM, so that I have the time and space to focus on the big picture and help influence what is to come to the best of my ability."
As befits a Nobel winner, Hassabis has played the more thoughtful, statesmanlike role in the AI industry in recent years. Last month he called on the US to establish a global AI watchdog to monitor the world's most powerful models.
Hassabis's Vision for AGI
"What we collectively do now will determine how the next phase of civilisation unfolds," he wrote on Substack. "By safely stewarding AGI into the world, we can enter a new golden age of scientific discovery and progress, and usher in a bright future of incredible human flourishing."
Hassabis will also remain as chief executive of Isomorphic Labs, a drug discovery company that spun out of DeepMind.
Departing Engineers Launch New Venture
Several leaders of its Gemini model, including veteran engineer Jeff Dean, are departing the company, Google said. He and Sanjay Ghemawat, another leading engineer, are leaving the company to launch a startup called Discovery Loop, which will focus on researching breakthroughs in machine learning, science and engineering.
Some investors are concerned that Google is falling behind its rivals Anthropic and OpenAI, each of which hired a leading Google AI employee this summer. Both have made advances in creating coding agents.
Alphabet's AI Strategy Under Scrutiny
The leadership shake-up comes at a critical moment for Alphabet, as the company faces intensifying competition in the AI space. While Google has long been considered a leader in AI research, rivals OpenAI and Anthropic have captured significant public attention with products like ChatGPT and Claude.
Investors have been watching closely to see how Google will maintain its competitive edge, and the departure of key executives has raised fresh concerns about the company's ability to retain top talent and execute on its AI strategy.
What's Next for DeepMind
Koray Kavukcuoglu, the new DeepMind leader, has been with the company for many years and has been instrumental in developing many of its breakthrough technologies. He will now lead the research lab through its next phase of development under Hassabis's continued guidance as chair.
Despite the leadership changes, Hassabis's continued involvement as chair and chief scientist suggests Alphabet remains committed to DeepMind's mission of advancing AI research responsibly.
🤖 The Big Picture
Google's AI empire is undergoing its most significant leadership shake-up in years, with DeepMind CEO and Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis stepping down from day-to-day operations to focus on the "big picture" of artificial general intelligence. The move comes as Alphabet shares dropped 4% amid growing investor anxiety that Google is falling behind rivals OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which have poached top Google AI talent this summer. With veteran engineers Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat departing to launch a new startup, and a new CEO taking the helm at DeepMind, Google faces a critical test of its ability to maintain its position as a leader in the AI race.
What's Next
Key developments to watch:
- Alphabet stock: Market reaction to leadership changes
- DeepMind's new CEO: Koray Kavukcuoglu's strategic direction
- Discovery Loop: Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat's new startup
- Competition: Google's response to OpenAI and Anthropic's advances
- AGI timeline: Hassabis's vision for artificial general intelligence
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