Demis Hassabis Steps Down as GDM Lead to Focus on AGI Strategy as Google Pushes into Agents
TheTuringPost · x · 2026-08-06
Demis Hassabis announced he is stepping into a new role as Chair of Google DeepMind & Chief Scientist of Alphabet to focus on long-term strategy and accelerating scientific breakthroughs. Koray Kavukcuoglu will step up to lead GDM as SVP.
This move does not mean Google has withdrawn from the agent race. Analysis suggests Google is spending heavily to catch up with OpenAI and Anthropic, redirecting DeepMind’s researchers toward agents. This strategic pivot has caused internal division and the loss of key scientists, indicating Google is currently behind rather than deliberately stepping back.
Related event: DeepMind Shake-up: Hassabis Steps Down as CEO to Become Chief Scientist(53 posts)→
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