Star Google researcher Noam Shazeer joins OpenAI in a coup for ChatGPT creator

OpenAI has appointed Shazeer to lead AI architecture research. He will focus on developing new AI model architectures and advancing the Transformer technology that powers modern AI systems.

Shazeer’s departure comes at an important time for Google as it competes with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s AI ventures in the fast-growing AI industry.

While Google’s stock has risen strongly thanks to its work on AI models, chips, and consumer products, the company has struggled to keep pace in selling AI coding tools to businesses. Former employees have also said that Google researchers often face internal challenges when trying to access the computing resources needed for AI development.

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Shazeer was a co-author of the 2017 Google research paper *“Attention Is All You Need,”* which introduced the transformer technology that powers today’s generative AI systems. He joined Google in 2000 and helped develop key features, including the search engine’s spell checker and advertising technology.

In 2021, he left Google to co-found Character.AI, a chatbot startup, after becoming frustrated with Googles slow rollout of generative AI products. He returned to Google in 2024 through a licensing deal that valued Character.AI at $2.5 billion and later co-led the development of Google’s flagship Gemini AI model.

"I'm excited to share that I'll be joining OpenAI and look forward to working with the exceptional team there," Shazeer - who's widely recognised as one of the most prominent and influential figures in AI - said in a post on X.

Shazeer said leaving Google was a difficult decision. He thanked the company and his colleagues, saying he was proud of what the team had accomplished together and appreciated the opportunity to work with them.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman welcomed the move enthusiastically. Responding to Shazeer’s announcement, Altman said that Shazeer was one of the people he had most wanted to work with since OpenAI’s early days, adding that the 10-year wait would be worth it.

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