Hassabis steps down as DeepMind CEO to focus on AGI

Alphabet ↘ 0.97% CEO Sundar Pichai announced a major leadership shakeup at Google DeepMind on Wednesday, with co-founder Demis Hassabis transitioning from CEO to chairman of the AI lab while taking on a new role as chief scientist of Alphabet, focused on the pursuit of artificial general intelligence.businessinsider+1

A New Chapter for DeepMind

Koray Kavukcuoglu, previously DeepMind's chief technology officer, will take over as senior vice president leading Google DeepMind, reporting directly to Pichai. He will oversee Gemini model development, frontier AI research, and the Gemini app and developer teams.9to5google

"We have arrived at a pivotal moment in human history," Hassabis said in a statement. "I've been working towards AGI my whole life and now, like many of you, I feel it is close at hand."9to5google

Hassabis described the change as giving him "time and space to focus on the big picture," while continuing to work closely with Pichai on strategic AGI matters and advising DeepMind leadership. He will also remain CEO of Isomorphic Labs, the DeepMind spin-off focused on AI-driven drug discovery.9to5google

Jeff Dean Departs After 27 Years

As part of the broader reshuffle, Jeff Dean, a leading AI researcher who has been at Google for 27 years, is leaving the company. Dean and fellow Google veteran Sanjay Ghemawat plan to launch an independent public benefit corporation to accelerate discoveries in machine learning, science, and engineering. Google is a founding investor and cloud partner in the new venture.businessinsider+1

Shares of Alphabet fell on the news.businessinsider

Continuity Amid Change

Hassabis expressed confidence in the transition, noting that he and Kavukcuoglu have worked together for over 13 years since DeepMind's early days. "The Gemini models are in good hands with Koray and the leads, as they have been for a while, and I'm excited about the great progress we're making with our new models including Gemini 4," Hassabis said.9to5google

The moves come as competition in the AI industry intensifies, with Alphabet seeking to maintain its position at the frontier of AI development while its top researchers increasingly look beyond day-to-day product work toward longer-term scientific goals.