Google is reshaping its artificial intelligence leadership, with Demis Hassabis stepping down as CEO of Google DeepMind to become President of the AI division, while one of the company’s top scientists departs as part of a broader organizational overhaul.

Hassabis, who is of Greek Cypriot heritage, will also assume the role of Chief Scientist at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, while continuing to lead Isomorphic Labs, Alphabet’s AI-driven drug discovery subsidiary.

Koray Kavukcuoglu takes on expanded role

Koray Kavukcuoglu, currently Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Google DeepMind, will become Senior Vice President of the AI unit, reporting directly to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. He will assume many of the operational responsibilities previously handled by Hassabis.

Jeff Dean leaves to launch Discovery Loop

At the same time, Jeff Dean, Google’s longtime Chief Scientist, and senior AI executive Sanjay Ghemawat are leaving the company to launch Discovery Loop, a public benefit company.

Google will remain involved in the venture as both an investor and a cloud services provider, signaling continued collaboration despite the executives’ departure.

Google reorganizes amid intensifying AI competition

According to Axios, Google’s AI division is undergoing significant internal restructuring as the company seeks to keep pace with competitors such as OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and Anthropic, creator of the Claude AI models.

The latest leadership changes are part of a broader wave of executive departures and organizational realignments across Google, reflecting the rapid evolution of frontier AI models and the increasingly competitive landscape of artificial intelligence.