Star Google AI Researcher Shazeer Joins OpenAI

Live updates

1. 1h ago

   Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI as Lead for AI Architecture Research

   Transformer co-author Noam Shazeer left Google DeepMind on June 18, 2026, to join OpenAI. Shazeer previously co-led the Gemini project and had been brought back to Google from Character.AI. He now takes a leadership role in AI architecture research.

   What's confirmed:

   • Noam Shazeer announced he was joining OpenAI on June 18, 2026.
   • Shazeer will serve as the Lead for AI Architecture Research at OpenAI.
   • Google paid $2.7 billion in August 2024 to bring Shazeer back from Character.AI.
   • Shazeer is a co-author of the Transformer research paper.
   • Shazeer previously served as a co-lead for the Gemini models.

   Still unconfirmed:

   • OpenAI is currently moving toward a stock market listing.
   • Google's market value dropped by $250 billion following the loss of two researchers.
   • Nobel laureate John Jumper left Google the day after Shazeer's announcement.
   confidence 95%
2. 3d ago

   Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI as Lead for Architecture Research

   Noam Shazeer has left his role as vice president of engineering at Google to join OpenAI. He will lead the development of next-generation AI model architectures. Shazeer is a co-author of the seminal Transformer paper and previously co-led Google's Gemini project.

   What's confirmed:

   • Noam Shazeer joined OpenAI from Google.
   • Shazeer will lead the development of new AI model architectures at OpenAI.
   • Shazeer co-authored the seminal paper on Transformer architecture.
   • Shazeer served as a vice president of engineering at Google.
   • Shazeer announced his departure via a post on X.
   • Google spent $2.7 billion to rehire Shazeer less than two years before his departure.
   • Shazeer co-led the Gemini project at Google.

   Still unconfirmed:

   • John Jumper is leaving Google for Anthropic.
   confidence 100%
3. 7d ago

   Former Google Gemini Co-Lead Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI

   Noam Shazeer has left Alphabet to join OpenAI. Shazeer previously co-led the Gemini AI models at Google. He had returned to the company from Character.AI less than two years ago.

   What's confirmed:

   • Noam Shazeer is joining OpenAI.
   • Shazeer co-led the Gemini AI models at Google.
   • Shazeer is a co-founder of Character AI.

   Still unconfirmed:

   • Jim Cramer described Shazeer's move as a coup.
   confidence 100%
4. 8d ago

   Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI After Leaving Google

   Google AI researcher Noam Shazeer has joined OpenAI. Shazeer was a key figure for the Gemini AI models. This move occurs as OpenAI prepares for an IPO.

   What's confirmed:

   • Noam Shazeer left Google to join OpenAI.
   • Shazeer was a key figure behind Google's Gemini AI.

   Still unconfirmed:

   • Google had a $2.7 billion deal related to Shazeer.
   • Sam Altman expressed excitement over Shazeer joining the company.
   • OpenAI is preparing for an IPO.
   confidence 90%
5. 9d ago

   Google Gemini Co-Lead Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI

   Noam Shazeer has left Google to join OpenAI. Shazeer previously served as a co-lead for Google's Gemini AI models and founded Character.AI. He announced the move on June 17.

   What's confirmed:

   • Noam Shazeer is leaving Google to join OpenAI.
   • Shazeer was a co-lead for Google's Gemini AI models.
   • Shazeer is a founder of Character.AI.
   • Shazeer co-authored the 2017 transformer paper Attention Is All You Need.
   • Shazeer announced his move on June 17.

   Still unconfirmed:

   • OpenAI is IPO-bound.
   • Google spent over 2 billion to rehire Shazeer months before this move.
   • Shazeer is a vice president of engineering at Google.
   confidence 95%