Nobel Prize-winning scientist John Jumper is leaving Google DeepMind to join AI startup Anthropic. The move represents the latest high-profile departure from Alphabet’s research division as major technology firms compete intensely for top-tier talent.
Jumper, who shared the 2024 Nobel Prize with Demis Hassabis, co-created AlphaFold. This breakthrough system predicted over 200 million protein structures, fundamentally accelerating biological and medical research. After nearly nine years at Google, he confirmed his transition to Anthropic via social media.
This departure follows the recent exit of Noam Shazeer, co-lead of Google’s Gemini models, to OpenAI. These movements underscore a fierce talent war involving Meta, Alphabet, OpenAI, and Anthropic as they race to develop next-generation AI systems.
Anthropic faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny from the U.S. government but continues to expand its scientific capabilities. While specific details of Jumper's new role remain undisclosed, Google DeepMind acknowledged his significant contributions to advancing science through artificial intelligence.