Noam Shazeer leaves Google for OpenAI two years after $2.7B acqui-hire
Noam Shazeer is leaving Google for OpenAI two years after Google paid $2.7 billion to acquire him and part of his CharacterAI team. Shazeer co-led Google’s Gemini and is recognized as a top pretraining researcher, and his exit underscores the limits of retention-focused acqui-hires.
1. Departure Details
Noam Shazeer is departing Google for OpenAI two years after being acquired in a $2.7 billion deal that included part of his CharacterAI team. His exit follows the conclusion of standard retention terms, allowing top recruits to leave once their contractual period ends.
2. Role in Google’s AI
At Google, Shazeer served as co-lead of the Gemini project, contributing foundational work in pretraining that underpins the model’s performance. His expertise spans neural network architecture and large-scale model optimization, making him a core figure in the division’s research efforts.
3. Implications for Talent Strategy
Google’s retention-focused acqui-hires face a critical challenge as high-value recruits like Shazeer can depart after vesting periods. This highlights vulnerabilities in Google’s talent war strategy and raises questions about its ability to keep leading AI researchers long term.
