Alphabet is restructuring DeepMind’s leadership, separating its research-centric system into tracks for “strategy/long-term research” and “product/monetization.” Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis has stepped back from daily operations as DeepMind CEO, with his role adjusted to serve as Chairman and Alphabet’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). The reorganization aims to place greater weight on long-term research such as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) while accelerating the commercialization of the Gemini model and expanding into enterprise and developer markets. DeepMind’s practical operations will be led by Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Koray Kavukcuoglu, who will oversee Gemini development and the developer organization. Kavukcuoglu relocated last year from London to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. Hassabis will also continue to lead Isomorphic Labs, the AI-driven drug discovery subsidiary he founded. The departure of key research personnel, including Jeff Dean, Google’s Chief Scientist who worked at the company for 27 years, has raised the possibility of a shift in organizational culture. The Financial Times reported that Google is centralizing AI development decision-making authority at its headquarters to accelerate Gemini’s commercialization and narrow the gap with competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. Hassabis has conveyed internally that stepping back from the front lines is intended to exert greater influence over the direction of AGI, and he mentioned on X last month that “we are only a few years away from AGI.”