Share

    • Noam Shazeer, Google Veteran and Character.AI Founder, Joins OpenAI

    By Any June 18, 2026
    Noam Shazeer, a co-lead at Google's Gemini project and the founder of Character.AI, is leaving Google to join its competitor, OpenAI. Shazeer was a key figure in early AI development at Google.
    Noam Shazeer, Google Veteran and Character.AI Founder, Joins OpenAI

    Noam Shazeer, Google Veteran and Character.AI Founder, Joins OpenAI Noam Shazeer, one of Google’s most influential AI researchers and co-lead of its Gemini project, is leaving the company to join direct rival OpenAI — a high‑profile defection that underscores the intensifying AI talent war.

    Early Google years and foundational research

    Shazeer first joined Google in 2000 and became a key figure in the company’s early AI efforts, co‑authoring a 2017 paper widely regarded as a starting point for today’s large language models. Over roughly two decades, he helped shape Google’s internal AI research culture and later its flagship Gemini model.

    Character.AI and the billion‑dollar return to Google

    In 2021, Shazeer left Google to cofound chatbot startup Character.AI. By 2024, Google moved aggressively to bring him back, paying Character.AI a reported $2.7 billion for non‑exclusive rights to its technology and an agreement that Shazeer and a group of researchers would return to the company. Character.AI remained a separate legal entity even as Shazeer resumed work at Google and rose to co‑lead Gemini.

    2026: Jump to OpenAI

    In June 2026, Shazeer announced on X that he was leaving Google and looked forward to working with the “exceptional team” at OpenAI, calling the move a “difficult decision” and praising his colleagues at Google. The shift comes as OpenAI prepares for an IPO and as major AI labs compete with large pay packages and complex acqui‑hire deals to lure top researchers.

    OpenAI’s reception and industry implications

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly celebrated the hire, saying Shazeer “is one of the people I have most wanted to work with since the very beginning of openai.” In a lighter aside, Altman joked, “We offer no explanation as to why Noams are so good at AI; we attribute their success, as all else, to divine benevolence.” The tweet quoted a message welcoming Shazeer: “I’m always thrilled to have more Noams at @OpenAI, but I’m especially thrilled to welcome @NoamShazeer!”

    For Google, Shazeer’s exit marks the loss of a marquee researcher it had recently paid billions to reacquire. For OpenAI and the broader industry, it is another sign that even long‑time tech giants struggle to lock in elite AI talent amid escalating competition.

    Continue reading https://foxvector.com/stories/019eda74-474b-184b-72c8-3b0382ca736a

    Write a comment