Google AI leadership shakeup: Hassabis steps down, Dean exits

Google is restructuring its AI leadership as Demis Hassabis steps down as CEO of Google DeepMind to become its chairman and Alphabet's chief scientist, while chief scientist Jeff Dean leaves after 27 years to co-found Discovery Loop, a public benefit corporation. The changes come amid intense competition from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Chinese firms, and as Google's Gemini 3.5 Pro launch faces delays. Koray Kavukcuoglu will lead Google DeepMind day-to-day.