Key facts
- Barret Zoph, co-founder of Thinking Machines Lab, is joining Google DeepMind.
- Zoph will take on the role of Vice President of Research.
- He previously held a Vice President of Research position at OpenAI.
- Zoph also has prior experience at Google Brain, which merged into Google DeepMind.
- A Google spokesperson highlighted Zoph's expertise in reinforcement learning and post-training for Gemini.
Barret Zoph, a co-founder of artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab, is set to join Alphabet-owned unit Google DeepMind as Vice President of Research. Zoph confirmed the move on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Zoph's career includes a prior stint at Google Brain, which later merged with DeepMind to form Google DeepMind in 2023. He spent six years as a research scientist within Google Brain. More recently, Zoph served as Vice President of Research at OpenAI, returning to the company after leaving Thinking Machines earlier this year. His departure from Thinking Machines was reportedly due to disagreements with CEO Mira Murati, alongside co-founder Luke Metz and employee Sam Schoenholz.
A Google spokesperson expressed enthusiasm for Zoph's return, stating that he will bring his expertise in reinforcement learning and post-training to Gemini. This move is part of ongoing AI-driven organizational changes at Google, which have included DeepMind CEO Dennis Hassabis stepping down this month.