Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, plans to step down to focus on the development and success of artificial general intelligence (AGI), as the AI research segment reshuffles its organisational structure. Following his departure, Hassabis will serve as Google DeepMind’s Chair and undertake the role of Chief Scientist at Alphabet, Google’s parent company. DeepMind will be run by Chief Technology Officer Koray Kavukcuoglu, who will become the firm’s Senior Vice President. After the announcement, shares in Alphabet, valued at US$4.4tn, fell 5% the same day. Hassabis, a major figure in the AI boom researching since the 2000s, founded DeepMind in 2010 and sold it to Google four years later for US$400m. He says he has been working towards AGI, a version of AI that can match a human’s cognitive skillset, and believes the technology is “close at hand”. Handing over day-to-day responsibilities gives him “time and space to focus on the big picture and help influence what is to come”. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai says Hassabis has discussed leaving for an extended period, seeking a role that allows him to focus on shaping AGI’s future. Unlike competitors OpenAI and Anthropic, Google has not pursued a commercial route with the technology. Author Sebastian Mallaby describes Hassabis as an “AI statesman”, noting DeepMind’s mission has always