Jeff Dean, one of Google’s most prominent technical leaders, is leaving the company to start a new venture alongside a group of fellow senior AI researchers. The move marks a significant departure for Google and signals a new chapter for a team united by a shared interest in applying artificial intelligence to scientific discovery.
Details of the new company remain limited as it takes shape, but the move reflects a broader pull many top AI researchers have felt toward founding their own ventures, where they can move faster and set their own research priorities outside the structure of a large organisation. The team’s stated focus on using AI to accelerate scientific progress positions the startup at the intersection of two of the tech industry’s most closely watched trends.
The departure is likely to draw close attention from both the AI research community and Google’s competitors, given Dean’s standing in the field and the calibre of researchers reportedly joining him. As the venture develops, its progress will offer an early signal of how much appetite remains among top AI talent to build outside the walls of Big Tech.
Source: techcrunch.com