Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer moves from Google to OpenAI

Google’s vice president of engineering and one of the leads on the development of the Gemini AI models, Noam Shazeer, is leaving the company. 

He announced this on the social platform X.

In the post, Shazeer wrote that he is joining the OpenAI team.

More on Shazeer’s move from Google to OpenAI

Noam Shazeer noted that the choice was difficult and that he is proud of the Google team and the products they built together.

«The decision to move on was difficult. I am incredibly proud of the amazing Google team and everything we built together. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with all of you», — wrote Shazeer.

The outlet CNBC reports that this departure happened less than two years after his return to Google. 

In August 2024 the company brought Shazeer and his colleague Daniel De Freitas back into its AI unit DeepMind. 

That was part of a partnership deal with the startup Character.AI, which the engineers founded together after their first exit from Google in 2021. They left then because the company declined to actively develop the chatbot project they were advocating.

Shazeer’s move to OpenAI comes as the company prepares for an IPO.

More on OpenAI’s IPO plans

On June 9, 2026 OpenAI filed a confidential application for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

In the filing, the company said it has not yet decided on the timing of an IPO. It added that there are currently tasks that are easier to accomplish as a private company, but submitting the documents preserves the option to go public more quickly if that becomes appropriate.

The company also plans to hold a tender offer for employees that will allow them to sell part of their shares at the latest company valuation.

According to CNBC, OpenAI’s most recent valuation was $852 billion after fundraising.

OpenAI is preparing for the IPO together with investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

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