Google’s stock came under pressure as two of its most prominent AI researchers announced departures to rival companies, intensifying the battle for artificial intelligence talent at the frontier of the industry.
Noam Shazeer, the vice president of engineering and co-lead of Google’s Gemini AI models, announced his departure to OpenAI on June 18, just under two years after Google paid $2.7 billion to bring him back through an acquisition of his startup Character.AI in September 2024. His move marks a significant blow to Google’s AI ambitions and a major win for OpenAI.
Days later, John Jumper, a Nobel Prize-winning researcher at Google DeepMind, announced he is leaving for Anthropic. Jumper won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work leading AlphaFold, the AI system that solved protein folding—one of biology’s greatest challenges. He spent nearly nine years at DeepMind before announcing his departure on June 19.
The departures underscore the intense competition for top AI talent among the world’s leading AI companies. When Shazeer left Google in 2021 to found Character.AI, the company eventually spent billions to win him back. Yet less than two years later, he has chosen to move to OpenAI, a company preparing for its own public offering. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman welcomed Shazeer publicly, calling him one of the people he had “most wanted to work with.”
Shazeer co-authored the landmark 2017 paper “Attention is All You Need,” which introduced the Transformer architecture that underpins most modern large language models. His expertise in model architecture and AI systems design makes him a highly sought-after figure in the AI race between OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Meta.
Jumper’s departure to Anthropic carries similar weight. As the lead researcher on AlphaFold2, he has been central to DeepMind’s most celebrated breakthrough. His move to Anthropic, which has gained significant momentum in 2026 with a reported valuation near $1 trillion in recent funding discussions, signals confidence in the startup’s trajectory in the competitive AI landscape.
The talent exodus reflects broader concerns about Google’s position in the AI race. While Alphabet reported strong Q1 earnings with 82% earnings growth and maintains zero analyst sell ratings, some analysts worry that losing top researchers could weaken long-term investor sentiment. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria told Barron’s that while Google remains well-positioned overall, “the race at the frontier right now appears between Anthropic and OpenAI.”
Google has also faced pressure from its massive AI infrastructure spending plans. Alphabet announced in early June that it would raise $80 billion through equity offerings to fund AI capital expenditures, with total AI spending projected to reach $180 billion to $190 billion in 2026. The scale of these investments has raised questions among investors about profitability and returns.
Sources
- CNBC — Noam Shazeer’s departure announcement and details on his role as Gemini co-lead
- Reuters — Confirmation of Shazeer’s departure to OpenAI and Character.AI acquisition details
- Barron’s — Analysis of stock reaction and analyst commentary on talent departures
- Bloomberg — John Jumper’s departure to Anthropic and Nobel Prize background
- TechCrunch — Details on Jumper’s nine-year tenure at DeepMind and Anthropic move
- 24/7 Wall St. — Earnings growth figures and analyst sell ratings for Alphabet
- The Guardian — Alphabet’s $80 billion capital raise announcement
