Noam Shazeer (노암 샤지어), co-lead of Google’s flagship AI model Gemini, is leaving the company to join OpenAI. CNBC reported he announced the move in a post on X. Shazeer, an engineering vice president, helped lead Gemini’s development and said he looks forward to working with OpenAI’s team. The move comes less than two years after Google brought him back into DeepMind. The shift highlights intensifying competition for key AI researchers and engineers.

Google and Microsoft are moving more aggressively into the AI coding market led by Anthropic and OpenAI, as big tech competes to keep developers tied to its AI models, platforms and cloud services. Analysts say the battle is less about selling tools than about ecosystem control. Market forecasts point to rapid growth. Companies such as MongoDB and Snowflake are using multiple services rather than committing to one provider.