Google has rehired Noam Shazeer with a generous severance package and put him in charge of AI development: report

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google has rehired artificial intelligence pioneer Noam Shazeer.

Shazeer, known for his work on the Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA), left Google in October 2021 to found chatbot startup Character.AI, which was backed by a16z, a company founded by Shazeer, TechCrunch reported in August.

His return is part of a broader collaboration, as Google has signed a non-exclusive agreement with Character.AI to use its technology.

Read also: Analyst: Billions in revenue from Google antitrust lawsuit at stake

Shazeer and several key Character.AI employees will assume senior roles at DeepMind. Character.AI General Counsel Dominic Perella will temporarily step in as Character.AI's interim CEO.

To recoup Shazeer's talent, Google reportedly paid around $2.7 billion to license Character.AI's technology and bring Shazeer back to lead its AI efforts. Google acquired shares from Character investors and employees, with Shazeer receiving a sizable severance package, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Although Character.AI has more than 20 million monthly active users, the startup faced challenges in monetizing its services and controlling user behavior.

Shazeer is now reportedly one of three leaders leading the development of Google's latest AI project, Gemini.

Needham Analyst Laura Martin expects Google's proprietary Large Language Models (LLMs) to drive significant growth over the next 3-5 years. The analyst praised Google and Amazon.Com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) as the most likely beneficiary of the current arms race to develop GenAI tools and capabilities.

GOOGL stock has risen 24% over the past 12 months as the company integrates AI technology into its search and other business units.

Price promotion: GOOGL shares were up 0.27% to $162.73 at last check on Wednesday.

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Disclaimer: This content was created in part using AI tools and reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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