Demis Hassabis steps aside as Google DeepMind CEO; Koray Kavukcuoglu takes over, Jeff Dean leaves
In early August 2026 Demis Hassabis handed day-to-day control of Google DeepMind to CTO Koray Kavukcuoglu (as SVP reporting to Sundar Pichai), becoming DeepMind chair and Alphabet chief scientist while continuing to lead Isomorphic Labs. Pichai's memo also announced Jeff Dean's departure to found a public-benefit company. Press tied the reshuffle to Gemini 3.5 Pro delays and a talent exodus.
Key facts
- Hassabis: now Chair of Google DeepMind and Chief Scientist of Alphabet; keeps leading Isomorphic Labs
- Kavukcuoglu: SVP of Google DeepMind, reports to Pichai; oversees Gemini models, frontier research and Gemini app teams
- Jeff Dean leaves after 27 years to start an independent public benefit corporation with Sanjay Ghemawat; Google is founding investor and Cloud partner
- Hassabis quote: 'I've been working towards AGI my whole life and now, like many of you, I feel it is close at hand.'
- Fortune: Gemini 3.5 Pro had missed three deadlines (June, mid-July, August); June departures included Noam Shazeer (to OpenAI) and John Jumper (to Anthropic)
What happened
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced a leadership change at Google DeepMind (reported by Axios on 5 Aug 2026): Hassabis moved from CEO to chair to focus on strategic/global AGI questions and Isomorphic Labs, and Kavukcuoglu took operational control. The same memo said Jeff Dean was leaving to start a new public benefit corporation with Sanjay Ghemawat. Fortune reported low morale, 60-hour weeks and a string of high-profile departures, and linked the change to the stalled Gemini 3.5 Pro.
Why it matters
The head of the lab that produced AlphaGo, AlphaFold and Gemini stepped back from running it during the most competitive stretch of the frontier race. Kavukcuoglu's first public statements (September) promised an early Gemini 4 release.
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: linked the new Discovery Loop entry
- 2026-09-29: added post link(s) (3) from Google/DeepMind + math posts pass
- 2026-09-29: created (note: Fortune dates Jeff Dean's departure to June 2026 while Pichai's August memo announces it; exact timing unverified)
- 2026-09-29: linked the AlphaFold-team breakup entry (Jumper, Adler, Pritzel to Anthropic)
Related posts (4)
- Hassabis: stepping into a new role as Chair of Google DeepMind & Chief Scientist of Alphabet Demis Hassabis @demishassabis · x · 2026-08-05
Hassabis's own statement as he gave up day-to-day control of Google DeepMind, framed as a response to AGI being close. - Announcing Discovery Loop Jeff Dean @JeffDean · x · 2026-08-05
Google's longtime chief scientist left after 27 years to co-found Discovery Loop, a PBC to automate the ML/scientific experimental loop, taking Gemini co-lead Oriol Vinyals and Quoc Le with him. - The next chapter of our AI momentum Sundar Pichai & Demis Hassabis @sundarpichai · blog · 2026-08-05
The official memo that restructured Google DeepMind: Hassabis to chair/chief scientist, Kavukcuoglu to run GDM, Jeff Dean leaving. - Sundar Pichai announces Google DeepMind leadership changes Sundar Pichai @sundarpichai · x · 2026-08-05
Google's CEO publicly announced that Hassabis would step up to Chair of Google DeepMind and Chief Scientist of Alphabet, ending his run as day-to-day CEO.
Related events
- Google releases Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite and 3.5 Flash Cyber — but no 3.5 Pro ★★★
- Google DeepMind launches the DeepMind Institute to broaden the AGI debate; Hassabis proposes a frontier-AI standards body ★★★
- DeepMind says Gemini 4 has entered post-training and will ship "much earlier" than end of 2026 ★★★
- Jeff Dean, Sanjay Ghemawat, Oriol Vinyals and Quoc Le leave Google to found Discovery Loop, a PBC to automate ML research and science ★★★★
- FT: Google DeepMind has broken up its Nobel-winning AlphaFold team; Jumper, Adler and Pritzel now at Anthropic ★★★
- Isomorphic Labs unveils IsoDDE drug-discovery engine, hailed as 'an AlphaFold 4' — but proprietary ★★★
- Isomorphic Labs raises $2.1B Series B; first human trials of its AI-designed drugs slip to end-2026 ★★★
- Demis Hassabis proposes a US-led, FINRA-style Frontier AI Standards Body in essay "A Framework for Frontier AI and the Dawning of a New Age" ★★★★
Sources (8)
- officialSundar Pichai: The next chapter of our AI momentum
- pressAxios: Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is stepping aside
- pressCNBC: Demis Hassabis' new Google DeepMind role explained
- pressTIME: Google DeepMind reshuffles after CEO steps aside
- pressFortune: Behind the exit of DeepMind's CEO — low morale, talent exodus, model delays
- officialSundar Pichai on X announcing the DeepMind changes
- officialDemis Hassabis on X: stepping into a new role
- officialJeff Dean on X: Announcing Discovery Loop
id: 2026-08-05-hassabis-steps-aside-deepmind · updated 2026-09-29 · open in the interactive timeline