What you need to know
- Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai announced the company’s second reorganization of 2024 as its AI teams shift to new teams.
- The Gemini app team will move under the Google DeepMind team, while those involved with the Assistant will fall under the new Platform & Devices team.
- Google’s first restructuring happened in April 2024 when Pichai announced the new Platform & Devices team to drive “computing forward.”
On Thursday, Oct. 17, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the company’s second major reorganization of 2024.
In a blog post, Pichai explained the reorg to the public and Google staff, with AI at its core. The post states that “AI moves faster than any technology before it,” and it seems Google’s leaders are interested in “simplifying” the structure behind the creation process. To achieve this, Pichai states a couple of its AI teams will see new homes, beginning with the Gemini app team.
Led by Sissi Hsiao, the Gemini app team will now merge with Google’s DeepMind team, spearheaded by Demis Hassabis. Moving quickly is the goal, as Pichai states merging these two teams should quicken the deployment of new AI models in the app. Additionally, Google is interested in improving the “feedback” loop.
The other reorganization sees Google moving its Assistant teams into its recently created Platform & Devices team. The company wants to bring its “AI-powered home initiatives into one team and focus on improving user experience.”
The remainder of Google’s reorg sees notable members finding new (and familiar) roles. Pichai highlights Prabhakar Raghavan’s return to computer science as he becomes the new Chief Technologist. Raghavan was formerly involved in the Knowledge & Information team, which helped facilitate AI Overviews, Circle to Search, and shopping capabilities with Lens.
In this new role, Raghavan is expected to “provide technical direction and leadership.”
Additionally, Nick Fox is shifting into a lead role (SVP) in the K&I team to handle Search, Ads, Geo, and Commerce-related products.
The first reorganization this year was detailed by Pichai in April. That restructuring created the Platform & Devices team we’ve seen the Assistant team move into today. The P&D team merges Google’s Android and hardware teams under one roof to drive “computing forward.” Pichai saw this as a chance to further the company’s hardware, software, and AI efforts.
Google also shifted several of its research teams into the new Platform & Devices world to “deepen” the AI experience across all of its devices. Those teams involved are responsible for computational photography and on-device intelligence.
Google has doubled down on its on-device capabilities through Gemini as it introduced the 1.5 Flash model in May. This “faster” model is optimized with a bigger context window so Gemini can understand complex queries quicker and answer them without much waiting. Then there’s the extreme amount of AI packed into the Pixel 9 series, which brings notable features. Users picking up the phones will find tools like Pixel Screenshots, Gemini Live, and more.