OpenAI recruits Noam Shazeer, co-architect of Gemini at Google

The tech giants' war to dominate AI has only just begun. Should we hold hands or put obstacles in each other's way? Recent evidence shows increasingly aggressive approaches. The departure of Noam Shazeer from Google for OpenAI is the most striking proof of this.

An exceptional researcher leaves Google for OpenAI AI

Noam Shazeer is no ordinary researcher in the world of artificial intelligence. He is the co-creator of the Transformer architecture, the basis of almost all modern, high-performance language models. His departure from Google for OpenAI is a real earthquake in the world of AI.

However, Google had paid $2.7 billion in 2024 to repatriate Character.AI to its laboratories. Less than two years later, the pioneer turned his back on Mountain View and its teams. This departure is all the more surprising since Shazeer had become co-manager of Gemini, Google's spearhead in the AI ​​race against ChatGPT.

On X, Shazeer announced his departure with elegance and a certain emotion.

I'm excited to share that I will be joining OpenAI and look forward to working with the exceptional team there.

Source: Noam Shazeer’s X account, June 18, 2026.

This announcement caused shock waves throughout the technology industry and among investors.

The creator of the Transformer revolution chooses ChatGPT

Shazeer's journey is exceptional and almost unique in the history of modern AI. In 2017, he co-authored the seminal article “Attention Is All You Need” which introduced the Transformer. This innovation is used today by ChatGPT and all the major language models that followed.

Greg Brockman, co-founder of OpenAI, responded to Shazeer's announcement with enthusiasm: “ Welcome to the team! “. Sam Altman also hailed this recruitment as one of the largest in the history of OpenAI and ChatGPT.

L'arrival of Shazeer comes at a crucial time for ChatGPT and OpenAI's entire strategy. The company is preparing a historic IPO, advised by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

The valuation could exceed $1,000 billion according to financial analysts. This technical reinforcement is a major asset to convince investors before the IPO.

This movement illustrates the war for talent raging in AI. The most brilliant researchers are driven away by offers that are impossible to refuse. Shazeer chose OpenAI rather than Google, a strong signal in this fierce competition between tech giants.

Perfect timing for OpenAI, a big blow for Gemini

OpenAI couldn't have dreamed of a better timing for this prestigious recruitment. Shazeer's arrival comes as the company finalizes its IPO file with its advisors. This recruitment strengthens its technical credibility at a time when it must convince financial markets around the world.

For Google, this is a big blow to its AI development strategy. The company just unveiled Gemini 3.5 Flash and Gemini Spark at its annual I/O conference. Losing your co-manager a few weeks later is a worrying signal for investors and developers.

However, Google tried to minimize the impact of this departure on its teams. His official message: “ We are grateful for Noam's significant contributions to Google over the years. » A polite response that does not mask the extent of the loss for Gemini and its future plans.

Key figures of this transfer

• $2.7 billion to bring Shazeer back to Google in 2024;
• $1 trillion valuation for OpenAI IPO;
• Founding article “Attention Is All You Need” published in 2017;
• Gemini loses its co-manager after 26 years at Google.

The AI ​​war is far from over between major research laboratories. Shazeer's departure shows that even the biggest investments cannot retain the brightest talent. The frequent departures at Gemini are already worrying Wall Street, which takes a dim view of the instability of the research teams. The future of ChatGPT and OpenAI looks bright, while Google must rethink its strategy to retain its best people.