ON
🔍
← Back to feed
PHTechnology2 days ago

Google Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join IPO-bound OpenAI

Noam Shazeer, a vice president of engineering at Google and co-lead of its Gemini AI models, announced his departure from Google to join OpenAI, which is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). Shazeer previously joined Google in 2022 after leaving his role as head of startup Character.AI, reportedly in exchange for a $2.7 billion payment. He was appointed co-lead of the Gemini AI model in 2024 and played a key role in advancing its capabilities. Shazeer expressed pride in his work at Google and excitement about joining OpenAI.

Listen to this article

Upgrade to listen

Powered by  Speechify

Already have Rappler+? Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism.

SUMMARY

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

NOAM SHAZEER. Google engineer Noam Shazeer.

Noam Shazeer on X

Noam Shazeer's move comes as leading AI firms compete for talent while racing to develop advanced models

Noam Shazeer, a vice president of engineering at Google and co-lead of its Gemini artificial intelligence models, said on Wednesday, June 17, that he will leave the company to join IPO-bound ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

Shazeer’s move comes as leading AI firms compete for talent while racing to develop advanced models. The surprise departure comes less than two years after Google reportedly paid $2.7 billion to bring Shazeer, the former head of startup Character.AI, back to the company along with a team of his researchers.

The timing of Shazeer’s departure from Google was not immediately clear.

In 2024, Google appointed Shazeer to co-lead the development of its Gemini AI model, and he has been credited as a key figure behind Gemini’s ability to close the gap on OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

“I’m incredibly proud of the amazing team at Google and everything we’ve built together,” Shazeer said on X, adding that he was “excited” to join OpenAI.

I’m excited to share that I’ll be joining OpenAI and look forward to working with the exceptional team there.

It was a difficult decision to move on. I’m incredibly proud of the amazing team at Google and everything we’ve built together. It has been an honor and a pleasure to…

— Noam Shazeer (@NoamShazeer) June 18, 2026

“We are grateful for Noam’s meaningful contributions to Google over the years,” Google said in a statement to Reuters.

Shazeer joined Google in 2000 and was a co-author of a seminal 2017 research paper that catalyzed the AI boom. – Rappler.com

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading

Read the full article at Rappler →
Source document: Noam Shazeer's statement on X (Twitter)

1 reports

RapplerIndependentCenter2 days ago
Google Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join IPO-bound OpenAI

Noam Shazeer, a vice president of engineering at Google and co-lead of its Gemini AI models, announced his departure from Google to join OpenAI, which is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). Shazeer previously joined Google in 2022 after leaving his role as head of startup Character.AI, reportedly in exchange for a $2.7 billion payment. He was appointed co-lead of the Gemini AI model in 2024 and played a key role in advancing its capabilities. Shazeer expressed pride in his work at Google and excitement about joining OpenAI.

Bias read (Center): The article reports on a corporate personnel change within the technology sector without taking a stance on political issues. It provides factual information about Shazeer's career moves and does not include any biased language, framing, or emphasis that would indicate a political lean.

Official sources cited

Go to the primary sources (1)

The official sources this coverage is built on. Read them directly to bypass framing.