Google shakes up DeepMind leadership as Jeff Dean leaves

Google is making a major change at the top of its AI organization. Reuters reports that Demis Hassabis will move from running Google DeepMind day to day into a broader Alphabet chief scientist role and become DeepMind chairman.

The operating handoff matters because DeepMind is the center of Google’s Gemini push. Reuters says Koray Kavukcuoglu, currently CTO of Google DeepMind, is expected to take over day-to-day operations. The move gives Hassabis a more research-focused role while Google tries to speed up product execution against OpenAI and Anthropic.

The shake-up is broader than one title. CNBC, Axios and other outlets report that Jeff Dean, Google’s longtime chief scientist, is leaving after 27 years to start a new AI company with other senior researchers. Google is expected to invest in that company rather than simply lose the team.

For readers, the signal is simple: the AI talent war is now reshaping the command structure inside the biggest labs. Google is trying to keep DeepMind’s research strength while making Gemini more commercially urgent and keeping departing researchers close through investment.