Google taps DeepMind’s Kavukcuoglu for new chief AI architect role

Google on Wednesday added a chief AI architect to its leadership ranks as the company continues to prioritize artificial intelligence and add the technology to more of its products.

The company tapped Koray Kavukcuoglu, Google DeepMind’s chief technology officer, for the new senior vice president position, the company confirmed Wednesday. Kavukcuoglu will report directly to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Semafor first reported the executive change.

Kavukcuoglu will help with product strategy and “accelerate how we bring our world-leading models into our products, with the goal of more seamless integration, faster iteration, and greater efficiency,” Pichai wrote in a memo to employees, the company confirmed. Kavukcuoglu will move from London to Mountain View, California.

The executive appointment comes as Google faces pressure to create money-making products from its flagship AI technology, much of which is housed in Google’s DeepMind unit. The company has been integrating its DeepMind unit within the broader Google organization since 2023. Since then, AI competition has moved quickly, and though advancements have been made in AI, tech companies haven’t been able to show significant returns.

Capital expenditures, however, have continued growing.

Google is investing $75 billion into AI infrastructure this year, the company said in February, and has ongoing efforts to cut costs as it prioritizes its AI investments. The company on Tuesday offered buyouts to employees across several units, including those working on Search and ads, CNBC reported.

The search giant isn’t the only one investing in AI. Others in tech, including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and startups such as OpenAI, which ushers in the era of generative AI with its late 2022 launch of ChatGPT, are heavily investing in the technology. 

Google last month announced its latest slew of AI products at its annual I/O conference. 

There, the company announced a new $249.99 per month subscription plan that includes early access to AI tools and experimental products. It also announced partnerships with Warby Parker and others for its Google’s Android XR, an operating system for headset computers that will include Google’s Gemini AI assistant that users can speak with to control the wearable devices.

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