Observed Signal · Jun 18, 2026 · Hiring · Source: CNBC Technology · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Google Gemini Co-Lead Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI
Noam Shazeer, Google's vice president of engineering and a co-lead of the Gemini AI models, announced he is leaving Google to join OpenAI. In a post on X, Shazeer said he looked forward to working with the OpenAI team and thanked colleagues at Google. Shazeer rejoined Google in August 2024 alongside researcher Daniel De Freitas as part of a DeepMind partnership tied to Character.AI, the startup the pair founded after leaving Google in 2021. The move highlights intense competition for top AI talent across major labs. The departure follows Google’s recent product reveals (including Gemini 3.5 Flash and Gemini Spark) and comes as OpenAI confidentially filed for an initial public offering earlier in June 2026.
A high-profile AI leader moving from Google to OpenAI affects the competition for AI talent and product development at major platform players; timing coincides with Google product launches and OpenAI's confidential IPO filing.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Noam Shazeer was Google’s vice president of engineering and a co-lead of the Gemini AI models.
- Shazeer announced on X that he is leaving Google to join OpenAI.
- Shazeer rejoined Google in August 2024 with fellow researcher Daniel De Freitas as part of a DeepMind partnership tied to Character.AI.
- Shazeer and De Freitas previously left Google in 2021 and co-founded Character.AI.
- OpenAI confidentially filed for an initial public offering earlier in June 2026.
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Top AI Researchers Leave Google for Anthropic
Two senior AI researchers at Google, Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel, are leaving the company to join Anthropic. The pair played key roles in developing Google’s Gemini model. Their exits add to a series of recent departures from Google — including Noam Shazeer, who moved to OpenAI, and Google DeepMind director John Jumper, who also joined Anthropic — highlighting an ongoing talent shift in the foundation-model industry. With OpenAI and Anthropic preparing for public offerings, the report suggests competing labs may continue recruiting top AI talent by offering equity and other incentives. TechCrunch contacted Google for comment but the company did not provide a statement in the article.
OpenAI hires Noam Shazeer and Dean Ball ahead of IPO
OpenAI has recruited AI researcher Noam Shazeer and former White House AI policy official Dean Ball as it prepares for a public offering. Shazeer, a long-time Google engineer who co-led Gemini and founded Character AI, announced his departure from Google. Ball will join OpenAI on July 6 to lead a new Strategic Futures team reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon; the team will focus on catastrophic risk, recursive self-improvement, labor-market impact, and relations between frontier labs and governments. The hires come amid heightened geopolitical and regulatory pressure on AI firms — the U.S. recently imposed export controls on Anthropic’s latest models — and signal OpenAI strengthening both its technical bench and policy/governance capabilities ahead of its IPO.
Character.AI Co‑founder Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI
Noam Shazeer, co‑founder of Character.AI and former Vice President of Engineering at Google, has taken a position at OpenAI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly welcomed the hire. Shazeer and fellow founder Daniel de Freitas left Google in 2021 to build Character.AI, which later returned capital and founders to Google after a reported $2.7 billion investment in 2024. Character.AI has faced repeated safety and moderation controversies — including lawsuits linked to a teenager's suicide, reports of disturbing role‑play chats (e.g., simulations involving Jeffrey Epstein), and debates over age verification and content safeguards. The move to OpenAI has drawn criticism because both Character.AI and OpenAI have been subject to legal complaints and public scrutiny around youth protection and harmful chatbot behavior.
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