Demis Hassabis Steps Down As DeepMind CEO To Become Chairman

Demis Hassabis is stepping back from day-to-day leadership of Google DeepMind, moving into the roles of Chairman of DeepMind and Chief Scientist of Alphabet. The change frees him to concentrate on long-term research strategy and scientific breakthroughs rather than the operational demands of running one of Alphabet's largest AI divisions. He will continue as CEO of Isomorphic Labs, the DeepMind spinout focused on AI-driven drug discovery. Taking over as senior vice president of Google DeepMind is Koray Kavukcuoglu, who previously served as the unit's chief technology officer. Kavukcuoglu will now report directly to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, marking a significant elevation in his position within the company's leadership structure. The restructuring places DeepMind's day-to-day operations under new management while keeping Hassabis closely involved through his chairman and chief scientist titles. The move comes as DeepMind continues to sit at the centre of Alphabet's AI efforts, including the development of its Gemini model family and various scientific research initiatives. By shifting Hassabis into a more strategic role, Alphabet appears to be separating the operational running of DeepMind from its scientific direction, allowing Hassabis to focus on the kind of long-horizon research work that has defined his career, from AlphaGo to AlphaFold, while Kavukcuoglu manages the unit's growing commercial and engineering demands. Hassabis's continued role at Isomorphic Labs signals that Alphabet still sees drug discovery as a priority area for AI application, and that his direct involvement there remains valuable even as his DeepMind responsibilities shift. The leadership change was announced via a post on X from Hassabis's own account, with further details expected as the transition takes effect.