Noam Shazeer, the Google vice president of engineering who co-led the company's Gemini AI models, announced June 18 he is leaving the search giant to join OpenAI. The move comes less than two years after Google paid roughly $2.7 billion to bring Shazeer back from his own startup, Character.AI.
A Short-Lived Return to Google
Shazeer first joined Google in 2000 and spent two decades there before leaving in 2021 to co-found Character.AI. Google's $2.7 billion deal to lure him back in 2024 was one of the biggest talent acquisitions in tech. Now, just months after that return, he's heading to OpenAI — a direct competitor in the race to build the most advanced AI systems.
The timing raises questions about Google's ability to retain top AI researchers despite deep pockets. Shazeer didn't detail his reasons for leaving again, but his departure leaves Gemini without one of its two leads.
The Transformer Legacy
Shazeer is best known as a co-author of the 2017 paper 'Attention Is All You Need,' which introduced the Transformer architecture. That invention underpins nearly every major language model today, including Google's own Gemini, OpenAI's GPT series, and Anthropic's Claude. His shift to OpenAI hands the company a researcher who helped create the technical foundation its products are built on.
OpenAI's IPO Ambitions
OpenAI has confidentially filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on a possible public offering. Reports peg the potential valuation at more than $1 trillion. Hiring Shazeer could signal to investors that OpenAI is locking in the talent it needs to maintain its lead as it prepares for a massive IPO.
That IPO is expected in 2026, part of a wave that also includes Anthropic and SpaceX. Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, has been gaining ground in enterprise markets — a segment OpenAI is also targeting.
A Widening Talent War
The competition for AI researchers has only intensified. Google's $2.7 billion bet on Shazeer didn't hold, and now he joins a rival that is simultaneously raising capital and building its workforce. OpenAI's hiring spree and its IPO plans suggest it's betting that the best people — and the most capital — will determine who wins the next phase of AI development.
For Google, the loss is both symbolic and practical. Shazeer was not just an executive; he was a link to the original Transformer work. His departure leaves the Gemini team without a co-lead and forces the company to decide whether to promote from within or make another expensive hire.
Shazeer's start date at OpenAI has not been disclosed. Google has not announced a replacement.
