Two Google DeepMind Researchers Leave for OpenAI and Anthropic

Noam Shazeer, who helped develop Google’s LaMDA chatbot system, announced his departure from Google DeepMind for OpenAI on Thursday. Days later, John Jumper, co-recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry for AlphaFold, said he would join Anthropic.

Both researchers had previously left Google and returned. ai before Google licensed its technology for a reported $2.7 billion in 2024. Jumper had continued protein-structure research at DeepMind after the Nobel award.

Google shares fell more than 5 percent on Monday following the announcements. The two exits occurred within 48 hours. Shazeer and Jumper did not state reasons for leaving. Earlier departures from DeepMind include David Silver, who started Ineffable Intelligence.

3.5 Pro is scheduled for general availability in June, four months after Gemini 3.1 Pro’s February release. Anthropic released two Claude Opus updates and introduced the Mythos model class during the same period. DeepMind maintains a team applying AI to scientific problems and recently launched a Gemini-based “AI scientist” system.