Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has appointed Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis to a new strategic leadership role as the company intensifies its focus on artificial general intelligence (AGI). According to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Hassabis will become Chair of Google DeepMind and Chief Scientist of Alphabet, while continuing to lead Isomorphic Labs, a company using AI to develop new medicines. Koray Kavukcuoglu, the company’s current Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Architect, will become Senior Vice President of Google DeepMind, taking over day-to-day management. Pichai said Google has made significant progress across its AI ecosystem, noting that the Gemini application has surpassed 950 million monthly users. He added that Google must accelerate AI development further while maintaining its leadership in research. Hassabis’ new role will allow him to focus on shaping the future of AGI and scientific research. In a message to employees, Hassabis described the period as a “pivotal moment in human history,” saying he has dedicated his whole life to AGI and feels it is close. He highlighted healthcare as a key area, stating, “It is time for AI to prove its value to the world, contributing even to tackling diseases such as cancer.” Hassabis, a Greek-Cypriot technology leader, has played a central role in breakthroughs including AlphaGo and AlphaFold.