Hassabis to Pause DeepMind CEO Duties for a Year as AI Leadership Shifts

Demis Hassabis will step back from day-to-day DeepMind CEO duties for about a year, shifting oversight of Gemini and consumer AI strategy to Koray Kavukcuoglu while pursuing other AI initiatives such as Isomorphic Labs. He was not pushed out; the move reflects Hassabis's preference for scientific exploration over executive duties. The changes come as Google reshapes its AI leadership after Jeff Dean's departure, with Kavukcuoglu now guiding DeepMind and Gemini 4 in a push to accelerate AI development amid intense competition.