San Francisco, 18 June 2026 – Noam Shazeer, one of the most influential engineers in modern artificial intelligence and a co-lead of Google’s Gemini models, is leaving Google to join OpenAI, marking one of the most closely watched talent moves in the global AI race.

Shazeer, a Google vice-president of engineering, has played a central role in the development of Gemini, Google’s flagship family of artificial-intelligence models designed to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. His move to OpenAI underscores how aggressively leading AI companies are competing for elite technical talent as they race to build more powerful models, improve commercial adoption and strengthen investor confidence.

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Abigail Cheong
I am Abigail, a journalist at The Ledger Asia, covering business and finance with a focus on the Malaysian Stock Market and key economic developments across Asia. Known for clear, accessible reporting, I deliver insights that help readers understand market trends, corporate movements, and regional news shaping the Asian economy.