Google loses two top AI researchers to OpenAI and Anthropic

**Warning: This will be an unpopular post because this sub loves Google. You can checkout the comments for proof.** Gemini co-lead, Noam Shazeer, is leaving Google to join OpenAI as announced last Wednesday. Shazeer was one of the lead authors of "Attention is all you need" paper that jump started LLMs. Two days later, Deep Mind VP and Nobel winner, John Jumper, announced he's leaving Google to join Anthropic. When something like this is happening, there is really only one possibility: Top talent do not believe Google will win. There is no reason for these people to join the biggest competitors if they believe Google will win. If you've been following the AI scene, you'd know that OpenAI and Anthropic have opened a massive lead in model capabilities since December 2025. They've been relentless with new model releases while Google sat idle until Gemini 3.5 Flash - 6 months after Gemini 3. I know this sub has a hard on for Google. But I've always been cautious of Google's ability to beat OpenAI and Anthropic. The reason is because Google is too big to move fast and they famously lack product focus. OpenAI and Anthropic have been running laps around Google in the last 6 months. >I think Google is a good safe option. >But I'll make a counter on why they aren't the best option for AI. >The main reason is that their Gemini models are losing to Claude and GPT. Developers heavily favor OpenAI and Anthropic models. The second is that Google is famously unfocused when it comes to product development. Anthropic and OpenAI push out better products around their AI models. [https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1stkmz3/comment/ohtv28f/](https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1stkmz3/comment/ohtv28f/) This should be no surprise to anyone here who are old enough to remember Google+ vs Facebook. Google fails more often than you think even though they have all the advantages in money, scale, and distribution. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%2B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%2B) My post history and how I see AI stock market: * [https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1qvguyx/why\_did\_ai\_hardware\_companies\_drop\_if\_wallstreet/](https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1qvguyx/why_did_ai_hardware_companies_drop_if_wallstreet/) * [https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1qxbhgs/ai\_demand\_quotes\_from\_big\_tech\_earnings\_calls/](https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1qxbhgs/ai_demand_quotes_from_big_tech_earnings_calls/) * [https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1rkep5v/the\_upcoming\_cpu\_shortage/](https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1rkep5v/the_upcoming_cpu_shortage/) * [https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1r2nbln/ai\_play\_isnt\_just\_gpus\_its\_everything\_physically/](https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1r2nbln/ai_play_isnt_just_gpus_its_everything_physically/) * [https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1stkmwz/reminder\_cpus\_are\_in\_huge\_demand\_intel\_earnings/](https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1stkmwz/reminder_cpus_are_in_huge_demand_intel_earnings/) My views on AI: * No AI bubble (yet). Market will go drastically higher. Market is still underestimating AI demand. * SaaS apocalypse believer * Believe the dominant AI models will come from OpenAI and Anthropic, not Google * OpenAI and Anthropic will be hugely profitable when the market matures * The "AI has no moat" and "AI will not have ROI" takes are wrong * Believe everyone should be investing in semiconductor companies because we will not have enough compute for many years to come. Even if data center boom ends, there will be a local LLM boom, humanoid robots boom. The world will never need fewer chips. Floodgate has opened.