Google moves Gemini app team under DeepMind to better compete with OpenAI

Last year, Google announced a major reorganization that merged Google Brain and DeepMind into a new group called Google DeepMind. Google DeepMind is now responsible for core AI development at Google, including the development of foundational models like Gemini. Now, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has announced another reorganization.

Google is moving the Gemini app team under the Google DeepMind group led by Demis Hassabis. The Gemini app is the direct consumer interface to Google's Gemini models developed by the DeepMind group. Google is bringing the teams closer together to improve feedback loops, enable fast deployment of new models in the Gemini app, and make its post-training work proceed more efficiently.

Along with the changes to the Gemini app team, Google is also moving the Assistant teams that were working on devices and home experiences to Platforms & Devices. This will help the Assistant team work directly with the product surfaces they're building for and improve the overall user experience.

Sundar Pichai also revealed that Prabhakar Raghavan is taking the role of Chief Technologist. In this role, he will work with Sundar, and Google leads to provide technical direction and leadership and grow Google's culture of technical excellence. Before taking up this role, Prabhakar Raghavan was a Senior Vice President at Google, where he was responsible for Google's Knowledge & Information products, including Google Search, News, Assistant, Geo, Ads, Commerce, and Payments. Nick Fox, a longtime Googler, will now lead Knowledge & Information products going forward.

Sundar Pichai wrote the following regarding the leadership change:

"I'm so grateful to Prabhakar for the strong foundation and leadership bench he's built across K&I. That includes his incredible senior leaders and Nick who is ready to hit the ground running in his new role as SVP of K&I!"

By streamlining its Gemini app development under Google DeepMind and fostering closer collaboration between research and product teams, Google aims to emulate the agility and speed of leading AI startups like OpenAI.