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Aug 27, 2026

Barret Zoph joins Google as VP of research after brief stint at OpenAI and departure from Thinking Machines

Barret Zoph, co-founder of Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab, has joined Google DeepMind as vice president of research. The move follows his abrupt departure from Thinking Machines after a conflict with CEO Murati and a brief tenure at OpenAI lasting less than six months.

Aug 27, 2026·4 sources
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Top claims

  • ▪Google spokesperson Thomas Schoenfelder confirmed Barret Zoph's hire and stated the company looks forward to Zoph bringing his reinforcement learning and post-training expertise to Gemini.
  • ▪Luke Metz, who returned to OpenAI with Barret Zoph in January 2026, has also left OpenAI and is reportedly joining Meta.
  • ▪Google's AI organization has recently seen high-profile departures, including longtime veteran Jeff Dean, Character.AI co-founder Noam Shazeer, and Nobel laureate John Jumper.

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