Google DeepMind Elevates Koray Kavukcuoglu to Lead Gemini as Rivals Pull Ahead in 2026
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 12
Google DeepMind Elevates Koray Kavukcuoglu to Lead Gemini as Rivals Pull Ahead in 2026
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 12
Summary
Koray Kavukcuoglu will become DeepMind SVP, replacing Demis Hassabis as operating head while reporting directly to Sundar Pichai and overseeing Gemini models, the app and developer teams.
The reshuffle comes as Google tries to regain ground on OpenAI and Anthropic, whose 2026 releases outpaced Google after Gemini 3.1 Pro in February and exposed a particular weakness in coding.
Analysts said the move shifts DeepMind toward execution and product cadence rather than broader AGI research, with Gemini 3.5 Pro seen as an early test after a reported delay to improve coding performance.
Alphabet shares fell when the change was announced and had already dropped in July on the Gemini delay report, even as the stock remains up about 76% over 12 months.
Google still argues its AI business is monetizing well—Pichai said nearly 90% of Fortune 100 companies use Gemini Enterprise—highlighting a gap between commercial traction and frontier-model leadership.
As Google kills traditional AI parameters to force structured outputs, will this rigid new ecosystem save Gemini or alienate developers?
With legendary scientists jumping ship, can Google’s new product-obsessed leadership actually close the frontier AI gap with OpenAI?
Despite lagging in frontier research, could Google's massive billion-user search integration secretly mean they have already won the commercial AI war?