Alphabet shares tumble as top AI researchers leave for rivals
Alphabet’s shares slid sharply after reports that five senior AI researchers, including DeepMind veterans Noam Shazeer and John Jumper, left the company for competitors such as Anthropic and OpenAI. The departures coincided with a broader market sell‑off, pulling down the S&P 500 and Nasdaq and wiping out roughly $270 bn of Alphabet’s market capitalization. Analysts are divided on the impact. Some, like Jefferies, view the exits as isolated noise that won’t derail Google’s long‑term AI strategy, while others question whether the talent drain signals a slowdown in Google’s model releases and a loss of leadership on AI leaderboards. The episode adds pressure on Alphabet to demonstrate continued innovation amid a competitive AI talent market.
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