Google Loses Key AI Researchers to Anthropic in Continued Talent Exodus
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is facing another wave of high-profile departures as two key artificial intelligence researchers announce their plans to leave for rival Anthropic PBC. Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel, both integral contributors to Google’s Gemini AI model, are reportedly set to join the startup behind the Claude chatbot. Adler specialized in AI-driven software coding, while Pritzel focused on the foundational training of AI systems.
These latest exits follow recent departures of other prominent figures, including Noam Shazeer, who moved to OpenAI, and Nobel laureate John Jumper, who joined Anthropic. The trend underscores a broader talent drain at Google, as startups like Anthropic and OpenAI use the promise of impending IPOs to attract top-tier talent from Big Tech.
The losses come at a critical time for Google, which has struggled to keep pace with competitors in the generative AI space. Despite pioneering early AI architecture, the company has faced challenges in retaining its top researchers. The GOOGL stock was down nearly 0.8% on Wednesday at the time of writing.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remains ‘bullish,’ with message volumes surging 57% over the past week and over 600% in the past month. ETFs including GOOGL, such as Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), Invesco QQQ (QQQ), and iShares S&P 500 (IVV), also show bullish sentiment. Despite the talent exodus, GOOGL stock has gained 10.5% year-to-date.