Google's AI business faces major personnel changes, and Alphabet's stock price drops over 5%
Google's AI business has undergone significant personnel changes, with DeepMind head Demis Hassabis transitioning to the role of laboratory chairman, and senior employee Jeff Dean leaving to start a new venture. This move has raised questions about the leadership in AI, and as a result, Alphabet's stock price fell by more than 5% at one point
Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is losing some of its most renowned artificial intelligence veterans, raising questions about the leadership in this key growth area amid intensifying competition in the AI field. Following this news, Alphabet's stock price fell by more than 5% at one point.
Demis Hassabis, head of Google DeepMind, will transition to the role of chairman of the lab. Senior employee Jeff Dean, who has long been involved in shaping Google’s AI strategy, will leave to start a new venture and take several core employees with him.
The company announced on its blog Wednesday that Koray Kavukcuoglu, the current chief AI architect at Google and long-time deputy to Hassabis, will become senior vice president, taking over most of Hassabis's responsibilities and reporting to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
Hassabis is a co-founder of DeepMind, the pioneering AI research lab that was acquired by Google in 2014. Since then, he has been one of the leading figures in the development of AI technology.
In a statement, Hassabis said, “I believe it is the right time to hand over the day-to-day operational responsibilities of Google DeepMind so that I have the time and space to focus on the bigger picture and do my best to help shape the future.”
As of 12:08 PM New York time, Google’s stock price had fallen by more than 4%, trading at $362.31
