DeepMind
- Google has added the cofounder of its DeepMind artificial intelligence unit to its own internal AI team.
- Mustafa Suleyman, who cofounded DeepMind with Demis Hassabis and Shane Legg, took a temporary leave from the firm earlier this year.
- His move to Google ends speculation that he planned to quit both DeepMind and Google altogether.
- Google acquired DeepMind for $400 million in 2014, and the firm remains headquartered in London and a research-oriented entity.
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Google has added the cofounder of its UK-based DeepMind artificial intelligence research unit to its own AI team.
Mustafa Suleyman confirmed the news on Twitter on Thursday, saying that he would join Google policy chief Kent Walker and Jeff Dean, the senior vice president of Google AI, in January.
"After a wonderful decade at DeepMind, I'm very excited to announce that I'll be joining @Kent_Walker, @JeffDean and the fantastic team at Google to work on opportunities & impacts of applied AI technologies," Suleyman said in his tweet. "Can't wait to get going! More in Jan as I start the new job!"
DeepMind also mentioned Suleyman's move in a blog post, and said that DeepMind's AI work was beginning to boost Alphabet's other companies. DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis pointed toward Suleyman's own prior work with Google as evidence.
"Mustafa played a key role over the past decade helping to get DeepMind off the ground, and launched a series of innovative collaborations with Google to reduce energy consumption in data centres, improve Android battery performance, optimise Google Play, and find ways to improve the lives of patients, nurses and doctors alike," Hassabis wrote.
Suleyman helped spearhead the company's controversial health division, which was found to have improperly obtained access to 1.6 million patients health records two years ago.
He took a temporary leave from DeepMind earlier this year, prompting speculation that he might quit altogether. His move coincided with Google's announcement that it would absorb part of DeepMind's health-focused operations into its own broader healthcare unit, Google Health.
Suleyman founded DeepMind in 2010 with Shane Legg and current CEO Demis Hassabis.
Google acquired DeepMind for 400 million pounds ($486 million) in 2014.
This is a developing story...
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SEE ALSO: The cofounder of Google's AI company DeepMind hit back at 'speculation' over his leave of absence
