Barret Zoph, co-founder of Thinking Machines Lab and former vice president of research at OpenAI, is returning to Google DeepMind as vice president of research, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive2,4.
Zoph left Thinking Machines Lab in January and departed OpenAI in June, according to the Journal's timeline. He temporarily returned to OpenAI earlier this year before making the move back to Google, according to his LinkedIn page cited by Reuters1. An AIBase report indicates Zoph will support Gemini development3.
Zoph spent six years as a research scientist at Google Brain, the unit that ultimately merged with DeepMind. He then served as vice president of research at OpenAI before co-founding Thinking Machines Lab.
The hire comes as Google has recently lost a string of high-profile researchers, according to the Journal. It also follows a broader leadership reshuffling inside Google's AI organization: earlier this month, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis stepped down from his role, and other teams have been shifted from DeepMind to the wider Google company.
ANALYSIS Zoph's return to Google after cycling through OpenAI and his own startup reflects the intensity of competition for senior AI research talent among a small number of organizations. His appointment to a VP-level research role at DeepMind, rather than a lateral move, suggests Google is actively backfilling leadership gaps created by recent departures.
Google is competing for elite research leadership against OpenAI, Anthropic, and a rising number of well-funded startups, according to GuruFocus.