Google меняет руководство DeepMind: Демис Хассабис стал главным учёным Alphabet

On August 6, 2026, Google announced a major restructuring at DeepMind's leadership: Demis Hassabis, co-founder and director of Google DeepMind, is transitioning to the roles of Chairman of the laboratory and Chief Scientist of Alphabet. Operational management of Google's largest AI division is being taken over by former CTO Koray Kavukcuoglu, appointed as Senior Vice President.

Who Now Leads Google DeepMind

Koray Kavukcuoglu, who until now served as CTO of DeepMind, is being promoted to Senior Vice President (SVP) of Google DeepMind and will report directly to CEO Sundar Pichai. Kavukcuoglu also retains his current role as Google's Chief AI Architect — making him a key figure in the entire company's technology strategy.

Hassabis is not leaving Google's structure: he becomes Chairman of Google DeepMind and Chief Scientist of Alphabet, while continuing to lead Isomorphic Labs — an Alphabet subsidiary that applies AI to developing new drugs. The new role gives him a strategic and scientific voice without the operational burden of day-to-day lab management.

Key restructuring details:

• Demis Hassabis — Chairman of Google DeepMind and Chief Scientist of Alphabet (continues to lead Isomorphic Labs)
• Koray Kavukcuoglu — SVP of Google DeepMind and Chief AI Architect of Google, reporting directly to Sundar Pichai
• Announcement made on August 6, 2026, on Google's official blog

Why Hassabis Is Moving to a Scientific Role

Hassabis is one of the authors of AlphaFold, a deep learning system that predicts three-dimensional protein structures with atomic accuracy. In 2024, he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with colleague John Jumper for this breakthrough, which transformed structural biology. Isomorphic Labs, founded in 2021, builds applied AI solutions for pharmaceuticals on the foundation of AlphaFold.

Pichai, announcing the changes, once again designated medicine as the top priority:

"I've always believed that the greatest application of AI is improving people's lives..." —

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, in the company's official blog.

Hassabis's transition to the role of "Chief Scientist" cements AI in medicine as an Alphabet-level corporate priority, not just one of DeepMind's directions. According to Google, he will shape the scientific course for the entire company's portfolio of AI projects.

What This Means

The reorganization separates two levels: Kavukcuoglu leads DeepMind as an engineering and product division of Google, while Hassabis is responsible for Alphabet's scientific horizon as a whole. This is the classic "visionary + operator" scheme — the company preserves both competitive speed in products and long-term research focus. For observers of the AI race, this is a signal: Google is not just scaling up models, but also restructuring its organizational structure for the next decade.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Isomorphic Labs?

Isomorphic Labs is an Alphabet subsidiary created in 2021 under Hassabis's leadership. The laboratory uses AI to search for new drug molecules: models predict the interaction of substances with target proteins, reducing the time and cost of early-stage drug development.

Who Is Koray Kavukcuoglu?

Koray Kavukcuoglu is one of the leading executives at Google DeepMind, a specialist in deep learning. Before being appointed SVP, he held the positions of CTO of DeepMind and Chief AI Architect of Google. According to Google, he now reports directly to CEO Sundar Pichai and retains his role as Chief AI Architect of the entire company.