OpenAI is bringing on some big guns in the lead-up to its IPO
OpenAI is bulking up before its IPO, landing Transformer co-inventor Noam Shazeer from Google DeepMind and former Trump AI policy official Dean Ball in the same week.
OpenAI is bringing on some big names to the team in the lead-up to its public debut: Google DeepMind AI legend Noam Shazeer and former Trump White House AI policy official Dean Ball.
Shazeer, a co-lead at Gemini and the founder of AI role-playing startup Character AI, announced his departure from Google on Wednesday . He had been at the company since 2000, leaving only for a three-year period when he left to co-found Character AI. Two years ago, Google rehired Shazeer in a $2.7 billion deal that gave the tech giant access to the startup’s technology.
The move is the latest in a series of shufflings between the top AI labs, including Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. Shazeer is credited for being one of the foundational minds behind modern generative AI. He co-authored the seminal 2017 paper “Attention Is All You Need,” which introduced the Transformer architecture.
Before leaving Google, Shazeer had also reportedly been stirring the pot when it came to political issues. According to The Information , Shazeer voiced opinions on internal messaging boards about transgender identity and Israel’s war in Gaza that resulted in management deleting his posts.
Whether those controversies will follow him to his new employer remains to be seen. In the meantime, OpenAI is also shoring up its policy credentials by bringing Ball to the team. Ball had a brief stint last year in the White House, where he helped publish America’s AI Action Plan before stepping down to rejoin the techno-libertarian think tank the Foundation for American Innovation as a senior fellow.
“I am pleased and honored to announce that, on July 6, I’ll be joining OpenAI as leader of a new team called Strategic Futures,” Ball wrote on X on Thursday . “Our mandate will be to help the company’s leadership shape frontier AI policy.”
Ball will report directly to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon. The “small, high-agency team” will focus on “matters pertaining to: catastrophic risk, recursive self-improvement, labor market impact, and the relationship between the frontier labs, governments (particularly the U.S. Federal Government), and society,” Ball wrote in a blog post .
The Strategic Futures team will cover both public-facing policy and internal governance, he added. That last is important — Ball noted that “almost by necessity,” AI labs will have to lead on AI governance decisions.
“In other words, internal governance will be more central to the future of AI than most people realize,” Ball wrote.
Ball’s decision to join OpenAI — arguably an AI favorite in the administration — comes as Anthropic battles once again with the U.S. government. Late last week, President Donald Trump ordered an export control ban on Anthropic’s latest models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5 , leading to the AI firm being forced to take the models down entirely to avoid noncompliance. For anyone who had “government interference” on their S-1 risk factor bingo card, Ball is what it looks like when a company locks in its insider status while a rival is squeezed.
TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for more information.
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Key takeaways
- The hiring of Noam Shazeer and Dean Ball strengthens OpenAI's strategy to bolster its technical and governance team.
- The formation of the Strategic Futures team indicates a growing concern about AI governance, a relevant topic for Brazil.
- The movement of talent between AI companies suggests competition that could accelerate innovations in the sector.
Editorial analysis
OpenAI's strategic hiring of prominent figures like Noam Shazeer and Dean Ball underscores a clear focus on strengthening both technical capabilities and governance policies. For the Brazilian tech sector, this approach can serve as a model, especially as the country aims to solidify its position in the global AI landscape. The presence of leaders with experience from major AI labs may inspire local startups to invest in talent and innovation, fostering a more robust ecosystem.
Moreover, the establishment of the Strategic Futures team by Ball indicates a growing concern about AI governance, a topic that will increasingly need to be addressed in Brazil. With the implementation of new regulations and guidelines, the country must prepare for the challenges that AI presents, particularly regarding labor market impacts and ethical considerations. Ball's experience in public policy may suggest that OpenAI is gearing up for a future where collaboration between tech companies and governments will be essential.
Finally, the talent movement between leading AI companies like Google and OpenAI suggests a fierce competition that could accelerate innovations. Brazil, with its growing community of developers and researchers, should observe these dynamics and seek international partnerships that can bring knowledge and technology to the country. What follows will be crucial: how these new hires will impact OpenAI's direction and, by extension, AI development in both a global and local context?
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