A prominent Google researcher is leaving for OpenAI, dealing another blow to Alphabet in the increasingly fierce battle for AI supremacy.
For a company that essentially invented the transformer architecture, the foundational technology behind modern AI, Google keeps watching its researchers walk out the door.
The talent tug-of-war that won’t stop
This isn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a well-documented trend that accelerated in early 2023, when Jacob Devlin, a well-known Google AI researcher, left for OpenAI. Devlin’s departure was notable because it wasn’t just about a better offer. He reportedly had internal concerns about the data practices behind Google’s Bard chatbot.
That exit opened the floodgates. Multiple Google AI researchers followed Devlin out the door in that same period, prompting talk of a “brain drain” at what had been considered the premier destination for AI talent.
