By Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Publication Date: 2026-08-12 05:00:00
Gemini AI signage during the Google I/O Developers Conference in Mountain View, California, US, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DeepMind’s new boss is set to face intense pressure to close the AI performance gap with OpenAI and Anthropic.
OpenAI and Anthropic have released new systems in recent months that have been both hailed for and prompted concern over their advanced capabilities. On the other hand, Google, which acquired DeepMind in 2014, hasn’t unveiled a frontier model since early 2026.
Koray Kavukcuoglu, who was previously the AI unit’s CTO and parent company Google’s chief AI architect, is inheriting a race to catch up to OpenAI and Anthropic at the frontier — building the industry’s most advanced models. He’s stepping up to become SVP, replacing DeepMind cofounder and CEO Demis Hassabis, who becomes the organization’s chair.
“The goal will undoubtedly be to close the gaps with Anthropic and OpenAI in some areas,” Ben Wood, chief…
