Google DeepMind
is among the leading labs where Google develops AI technology that powers conversational AI chatbots like Bard. Apart from companies like ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Amazon and Facebook parent company Meta, Google also faces competition from startups that are trying to get a pie in this nascent field. Some of these startups are founded by Google’s former employees, and if a new report is to be believed, a company veteran has
quit
to
launch
an
AI startup
.
Citing people with knowledge of the matter, The Information reported that Ioannis Antonoglou, who has been a longtime AI researcher at DeepMind, has quit the company to establish his own startup. Antonoglou is based in London and is the fourth lead
developer
of Google’s Gemini, a large language model aimed at competing with OpenAI, to leave the company since September, the report said.
The report claims that before the departures, Gemini had 36 lead members. A quick review of Antonoglou’s LinkedIn profile suggests that he has worked as senior staff research scientist at Google DeepMind from October 2012 to January 2024.
Three Google Deepmind employees leave
The latest development comes a few days after the same publication claimed that three Google Deepmind employees, who helped develop AI that generates images and music, left the company. Last week, a report claimed that two company employees – Laurent Sifre and Karl Tuyls – were in talks with investors to establish an AI startup in Paris. Both were working with Google DeepMind AI division.
However, Googlers leaving the company to establish their own startups is not a problem for Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Reports suggested that in the past, several Google employees left the company to work with OpenAI. Pichai said that he did not have a problem with that because it was healthy.
“Googlers have left to create over 2,000 startups, last I counted, and I think that’s great. Some of them are cloud customers down the line for us. Some of them come back. I think it’s healthy,” he said.
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