Google DeepMind Loses Two Heavyweights in Three Days: Shazeer to OpenAI, Jumper to Anthropic
Between June 18 and 19, Google DeepMind lost two of its most prominent figures in under 72 hours, sending shockwaves through the AI industry.
Three key facts
Transformer paper co-author and Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer announced on June 18 that he is joining OpenAI as Lead for Architecture Research. One of the eight authors behind the landmark 2017 paper "Attention Is All You Need," Shazeer left Google in 2021 to co-found Character.AI, then was brought back in August 2024 when Google paid $2.7 billion to acqui-hire his team and assets. Less than two years later, he's gone again — this time to Google's fiercest rival.
The very next day, 2024 Nobel Chemistry laureate and AlphaFold lead John Jumper announced he is leaving DeepMind after nearly nine years to join Anthropic. Jumper won the Nobel Prize for developing AlphaFold, DeepMind's protein structure prediction system, making him arguably the lab's most recognizable scientist. He said on X that he would take some time to recharge before starting. Anthropic hasn't disclosed his role, but the hire aligns with its expanding life sciences push — the company acquired protein design firm Coefficient Bio in April.
Both departures carry the same signal: Google's money can't hold top talent. Shazeer was bought back for $2.7 billion and still walked. Jumper spent a decade at DeepMind, produced Nobel-caliber work, and chose to leave anyway. OpenAI is gearing up for its IPO, and Anthropic just closed a record $65 billion private round — their valuation flywheels are creating a gravitational pull that Google's talent pool can't resist.
WangDou's Take
Google spent $2.7 billion bringing Shazeer back, and less than two years later he packed up and left. That's roughly the ROI of spending $2 million renovating a rented apartment. What's even more awkward is Jumper — imagine your company's only Nobel laureate, who won his prize using your compute and your paycheck, turning around and walking straight to the competitor you fear most. Two gone in three days, one to OpenAI, one to Anthropic. This isn't brain drain — this is Google DeepMind running a talent incubator for the rest of the industry. If Pichai isn't panicking, something is seriously wrong.
Source: CNBC — Google Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer leaves for OpenAI · TechCrunch — Nobel laureate John Jumper is leaving DeepMind for rival Anthropic