Thinking Machines Lab co-founder Barret Zoph joins Google

Aug 26 : Barret Zoph, a co-founder of artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab, will join Alphabet-owned unit Google DeepMind, Zoph said on Wednesday. 

Here are some details:

• Zoph will join Google’s DeepMind as Vice President of Research after serving as Vice President of Research at OpenAI.

• Zoph made a brief return to his former employer, OpenAI, after leaving Thinking Machines earlier this year, according to his LinkedIn profile.

• The move is the latest in a series of AI-driven reshuffles at the company, including DeepMind CEO Dennis Hassabis stepping aside this month.

• Zoph spent six years with Google as a research scientist in Google Brain, which was later merged with DeepMind to form Google DeepMind in 2023.

• Alphabet’s shakeup of the AI lab included ​a revelation during an all-hands meeting on August 6 that some teams were moving out of DeepMind and into corporate Google, Reuters reported earlier this month, citing two sources.