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Reported by 9to5Google and corroborated by Demis Hassabis' X announcement plus Investing.com coverage on the same day.

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Home/Tech/Demis Hassabis steps down as DeepMind CEO to focus on AGI strategy
VERIFIEDBy Xavier Rivera· ·1 min read

Demis Hassabis steps down as DeepMind CEO to focus on AGI strategy

Sundar Pichai announced leadership changes at Google DeepMind in which Demis Hassabis steps down from the CEO post to become Chair of GDM and Chief Scientist of Alphabet, citing the proximity of AGI. Koray Kavukcuoglu, previously Chief Technology Officer, takes over as Senior Vice President reporting to Pichai and will oversee Gemini model development, Frontier AI research, and the Gemini app and developer teams.

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Demis Hassabis steps down as DeepMind CEO to focus on AGI strategy
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TL;DRAI · 60 sec read

Demis Hassabis steps down from day-to-day operations as Google DeepMind CEO. He becomes GDM chair and Alphabet chief scientist to dedicate time to AGI strategy. Koray Kavukcuoglu takes the senior vice president role leading Gemini development and frontier AI research. The transition supports broader focus on AGI's future impact.

⚐ CORRECTED 

Corrected announcement weekday from Thursday to Wednesday (Aug 5, 2026).

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Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai revealed leadership shifts at Google DeepMind on Wednesday that include a major transition for Demis Hassabis.
He stressed the need to “collectively get the next steps right to ensure this all goes well for humanity.”
Hassabis, who previously served as CEO of the unit, is relinquishing “day-to-day operational responsibilities at GDM.” He assumes the positions of Chair of GDM and Chief Scientist of Alphabet.
POST FROM @demishassabis· Official announcement tweet from Demis Hassabis detailing the role change
https://x.com/demishassabis/status/2085034334914769203
In a statement, Hassabis said the moment represents “a pivotal moment in human history” and added that after devoting his career to the pursuit of AGI, he now believes it “is close at hand.” He stressed the need to “collectively get the next steps right to ensure this all goes well for humanity.”
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Pichai noted that the new responsibilities will let Hassabis concentrate entirely on guiding AGI development. The researcher himself described the move as one that grants him greater bandwidth to consider long-term implications and exert influence where it matters most.
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Koray Kavukcuoglu, formerly Chief Technology Officer of GDM, will now lead the organization as Senior Vice President. He will report directly to Pichai and “oversee Gemini model development, Frontier AI research, and the Gemini app and developer teams.”
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