Jeff Dean Leaves Google After 27 Years to Cofound Discovery Loop as Staff Mourn Exit
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Aug 6
Jeff Dean Leaves Google After 27 Years to Cofound Discovery Loop as Staff Mourn Exit
3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Aug 6
Summary
Google employees flooded internal message boards with memes and laments after chief scientist Jeff Dean said he would leave the company after 27 years.
Dean is departing to cofound AI startup Discovery Loop with three other Google researchers, including longtime collaborator Sanjay Ghemawat, while Google takes a stake in the venture.
The startup will focus on automating machine learning across fields including computer hardware and drug discovery, extending work tied to one of Google's most influential engineers.
Dean helped build Google's search infrastructure, cofounded Google Brain and co-led Gemini technically; his exit comes with Demis Hassabis becoming Alphabet chief scientist and DeepMind chair.
Some employees said the departure was mishandled as a reorganization footnote, and others joked about Alphabet shares falling as much as 6% after the AI leadership reshuffle.