# Demis Hassabis steps down from Google DeepMind CEO role

> Demis Hassabis, who co-founded DeepMind and ran it for 16 years, is handing off the CEO job to become chairman and chief scientist of Alphabet, a move he framed as a chance to concentrate on the company's long-range bet on artificial general intelligence. Koray Kavukcuoglu, DeepMind's former CTO, steps up to senior VP and takes over daily operations. Hassabis told staff that AGI is close at hand and that getting the next steps right is critical for humanity, language that signals this is less a retirement than a repositioning toward strategy and safety at the very top of Alphabet. He keeps leading Isomorphic Labs, the drug-discovery spinout that has become his other main focus. Markets read the reshuffle nervously, with Alphabet shares slipping about 5 percent on the news. For a lab whose research has defined much of the modern AI era, a change at the top invites obvious questions about continuity, but placing its most recognizable scientist above the whole company suggests Alphabet wants his fingerprints on where all of it goes next.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: Fortune · Published Sunday, August 9, 2026_

## Wortins' read

Demis Hassabis, who co-founded DeepMind and ran it for 16 years, is handing off the CEO job to become chairman and chief scientist of Alphabet, a move he framed as a chance to concentrate on the company's long-range bet on artificial general intelligence. Koray Kavukcuoglu, DeepMind's former CTO, steps up to senior VP and takes over daily operations. Hassabis told staff that AGI is close at hand and that getting the next steps right is critical for humanity, language that signals this is less a retirement than a repositioning toward strategy and safety at the very top of Alphabet. He keeps leading Isomorphic Labs, the drug-discovery spinout that has become his other main focus. Markets read the reshuffle nervously, with Alphabet shares slipping about 5 percent on the news. For a lab whose research has defined much of the modern AI era, a change at the top invites obvious questions about continuity, but placing its most recognizable scientist above the whole company suggests Alphabet wants his fingerprints on where all of it goes next.

## Source

[Read the full story at Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/08/05/demis-hassabis-steps-down-google-deepmind-ai-shakeup/)

## Related coverage

- [Emerald AI Raises $150 Million Series A at $1.05 Billion Valuation](https://www.wortins.com/story/emerald-ai-raises-150-million-series-a-at-1-05-billion-valua-2071899e) — [Business Wire](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260825127649/en/Emerald-AI-Raises-$150-Million-Series-A-at-$1.05-Billion-Valuation-to-Scale-Power-Flexible-AI-Data-Centers)
- [Google Cloud Launches Gemini Enterprise for Financial Services](https://www.wortins.com/story/google-cloud-launches-gemini-enterprise-for-financial-servic-5d0fd141) — [Google Cloud](https://www.googlecloudpresscorner.com/2026-08-25-Google-Cloud-Launches-Gemini-Enterprise-for-Financial-Services)
- [Apple Updates, AI Computers, and OpenAI's Jalapeño Chip](https://www.wortins.com/story/apple-updates-ai-computers-and-openai-s-jalape-o-chip-adb3115c) — [Stratechery](https://stratechery.com/2026/apple-updates-mini-and-studio-ai-computers-openai-jalapeno/)
- [Anthropic Adds Claude Mythos 5 to Claude Security for Vulnerability Scanning](https://www.wortins.com/story/anthropic-adds-claude-mythos-5-to-claude-security-for-vulner-34ff7302) — [Anthropic](https://claude.com/blog/bringing-claude-mythos-5-to-more-defenders)
- [Callosum Raises $100 Million to Match AI Tasks with Most Cost-Effective Models](https://www.wortins.com/story/callosum-raises-100-million-to-match-ai-tasks-with-most-cost-da05cef6) — [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-20/ai-startup-callosum-raises-100-million-to-make-ai-tasks-cheaper)
- [Transfyr Raises $25 Million Seed for Physical AI Platform](https://www.wortins.com/story/transfyr-raises-25-million-seed-for-physical-ai-platform-163dfbba) — [TechStartups](https://techstartups.com/2026/08/26/startup-funding-news-today-august-26-2026-emerald-ai-gatik-stellaria-more/)

---

_Curated and written by [Wortins](https://www.wortins.com) — The daily AI briefing. Every story links to its original source; the "Wortins read" on each is our own original analysis. [About Wortins & our editorial approach](https://www.wortins.com/about)._