OpenAI poaches 3 AI experts from rival Google DeepMind
What's the story
OpenAI, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) research lab, has managed to poach three senior engineers from its rival Google DeepMind.
The new hires are Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai. They are experts in computer vision and machine learning and will be working at OpenAI's newly established office in Zurich, Switzerland.
The strategic move was announced to the staff through an internal memo on Tuesday.
Project focus
New recruits to focus on multimodal AI development
The trio from Google DeepMind will focus on building multimodal AI at OpenAI. These are advanced models capable of executing tasks across different mediums like images and audio.
OpenAI has been a pioneer in this area, releasing the first version of its text-to-image platform Dall-E in 2021.
The company's flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, first engaged with text inputs but eventually added voice and image capabilities as multimodal became more critical to its product line and AI research.
New hire
OpenAI has also hired its first chief marketing officer
OpenAI has appointed Kate Rouch, the former CMO of Coinbase, as its first Chief Marketing Officer.
This strategic move comes as the company has been actively filling C-suite positions, including Sarah Friar as CFO, Kevin Weil as Chief Business Officer, Scott Schools as Chief Compliance Officer, and Aaron Chatterji as Chief Economist.
While OpenAI has not yet filled the CTO position vacated by Mira Murati, its recent hires signify a focus on scaling business and navigating the complex regulatory landscape.
Future plans
OpenAI's upcoming generative AI video product
OpenAI is also working on a much-anticipated generative AI video product, Sora, which is yet to see a wide release.
Notably, the latest version of Dall-E can now be accessed directly within ChatGPT. This integration further underscores the company's commitment to multimodal functionality in its AI research and product development.
Beyer, Kolesnikov, and Zhai have a history of close collaboration at DeepMind, which is expected to continue in their new roles at OpenAI.
Talent acquisition
OpenAI and DeepMind in intense competition for top AI talent
Recruiting top researchers is a cut-throat competition among leading AI companies such as OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
These companies frequently offer annual packages close to seven figures to lure the best talent from across the globe.
And, this is not just limited to these two companies; tech giants such as Microsoft and Google are also doing the same to get leading AI experts on board.
Organizational changes
OpenAI's global expansion and recent departures
Notably, OpenAI has witnessed a string of departures of key figures lately, who have either moved to competitors such as DeepMind and Anthropic or started their own ventures.
However, even with the changes, the company is still expanding globally, with plans to set up new offices in New York City, Seattle, Brussels, Paris, and Singapore.
This, in addition to its London, Tokyo, other cities around the world as well as San Francisco headquarters.