Google DeepMind Gets New SVP as Tech Giant Races to Close AI Gap with OpenAI and Anthropic
Summary
Google DeepMind appoints Koray Kavukcuoglu as SVP to lead Gemini development as the tech giant races to close a growing AI performance gap with OpenAI and Anthropic, signaling a major strategic push toward faster model releases and product-focused execution.
Key Points
- Koray Kavukcuoglu is taking over as SVP of Google DeepMind, reporting directly to CEO Sundar Pichai and overseeing Gemini model development, frontier AI research, and the Gemini app and developer teams.
- Google is facing mounting pressure to close the performance gap with OpenAI and Anthropic, particularly in coding, where rivals are considered significantly ahead after launching highly praised new models in 2026.
- Kavukcuoglu's appointment signals a strategic shift toward faster execution and product-focused development, with analysts expecting quicker model releases and a stronger emphasis on large language model improvements over broader academic research.