Barret Zoph, the Thinking Machines co-founder who defected to OpenAI, is now at Google
TechCrunch
β’Thu, 27 Aug 2026 19:52:52 +0000
π° What Happened
Barret Zoph, the Thinking Machines co-founder who defected back to OpenAI earlier this year, has now taken a job at Google as vice president of research. A Google spokesperson confirmed he will bring his reinforcement learning and post-training expertise to the Gemini team. Zoph left OpenAI in June after roughly five months back at the company, where he had headed AI enterprise sales, and his destination was unknown until now. The move adds another twist to a rapid game of musical chairs among top AI executives.
π The Backstory
Zoph spent two earlier years at OpenAI before leaving in October 2024 to co-found Thinking Machines with Mira Murati, who had departed the same month. In January he and co-founder Luke Metz dramatic departure their own startup to rejoin OpenAI, but that return did not last. He stayed only about five months before leaving in June, and he has now landed at Google, where he previously worked. Google is currently competing intensely with OpenAI, and Zoph's hiring is a high-profile test of talent moving between the rival labs.
π― Why It Matters
The hiring is a signal of how fiercely AI labs compete for scarce top technical talent, and what a coveted post-training leader means in a race that is increasingly won by engineering skill. On the surface it strengthens Google's Gemini effort with hands-on RL and post-training ability that ground OpenAI's most reliable leader. For OpenAI, it compounds a run of senior departures, from its COO to top data-center executives, even as it prepares for an IPO. For the labor market, it underscores that even the most powerful labs can be raided and that no loyalty lasts long in boom town.
Barret Zoph, the Thinking Machines co-founder who defected back to OpenAI earlier this year, has now taken a job at Google as vice president of research. A Google spokesperson confirmed he will bring his reinforcement learning and post-training expertise to the Gemini team. Zoph left OpenAI in June after roughly five months back at the company, where he had headed AI enterprise sales, and his destination was unknown until now. The move adds another twist to a rapid game of musical chairs among top AI executives.
Zoph spent two earlier years at OpenAI before leaving in October 2024 to co-found Thinking Machines with Mira Murati, who had departed the same month. In January he and co-founder Luke Metz dramatic departure their own startup to rejoin OpenAI, but that return did not last. He stayed only about five months before leaving in June, and he has now landed at Google, where he previously worked. Google is currently competing intensely with OpenAI, and Zoph's hiring is a high-profile test of talent moving between the rival labs.
The hiring is a signal of how fiercely AI labs compete for scarce top technical talent, and what a coveted post-training leader means in a race that is increasingly won by engineering skill. On the surface it strengthens Google's Gemini effort with hands-on RL and post-training ability that ground OpenAI's most reliable leader. For OpenAI, it compounds a run of senior departures, from its COO to top data-center executives, even as it prepares for an IPO. For the labor market, it underscores that even the most powerful labs can be raided and that no loyalty lasts long in boom town.