Exclusive-Inside the Google executive moves that led to its big AI reshuffle

SAN FRANCISCO, August 12 - Google co-founder Sergey Brin has urged key AI staff to focus on the company's Gemini model, as Alphabet aims to compete with rivals in the AI space. At an April town hall, Brin encouraged the Google DeepMind AI lab to move faster, according to a source familiar with the remarks. While Gemini briefly led competitors earlier this year, new updates from Anthropic and OpenAI have since put it behind again.

By August, Google delayed the new Gemini version by two months due to poor performance in certain areas, such as coding.

In a significant leadership shakeup, Google announced the reorganization of its Google DeepMind AI division on August 5. Demis Hassabis, the chief of DeepMind, stepped aside to become its chair, while his deputy, Koray Kavukcuoglu, took over as chief. Two original technical co-leads of Gemini then quit to co-found a startup. These changes are part of Alphabet's effort to achieve model supremacy and integrate AI more deeply into its products.