Google Paid $2.7 Billion to Rehire Employee
Data & AI with Hari - Newsletter #35
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Google Poaches OpenAI's Sora Co-Lead
Tim Brooks, co-lead of OpenAI’s video generator project, Sora, has left the company to join Google DeepMind. This is the latest in a string of leadership departures at OpenAI, with Sora facing technical issues like slow processing times. Despite its potential, Sora has struggled to compete with rivals like Runway and Stability AI.
At Google DeepMind, Brooks will work on projects like Genie, which generates virtual worlds from sketches and images. His move is a big win for Google as OpenAI continues to navigate challenges in the AI video generation race.
OpenAI’s 2024 DevDay Updates
At OpenAI’s 2024 DevDay, they introduced exciting tools for AI developers, including the new "Realtime API." This API allows for fast, low-latency speech-to-speech experiences, perfect for apps like customer service or travel planning. They also launched vision fine-tuning for AI models, which can improve things like self-driving car accuracy or medical imaging.
Another cool feature is prompt caching, which helps cut costs and speed up responses by reusing previously processed data. These updates make it easier for developers to create smarter, faster, and more cost-effective AI applications.
Google Paid $2.7 Billion to Rehire Employee
Google made headlines by spending $2.7 billion to rehire AI pioneer Noam Shazeer, highlighting the intense competition for top AI talent. Shazeer, co-creator of the influential transformer architecture, left Google in 2021 to co-found Character.AI, which quickly became a hit with AI chatbots mimicking celebrities and fictional characters.
Now back at Google, Shazeer joins DeepMind to lead the next-gen AI project, Gemini. This massive deal underscores how valuable AI expertise is today, with tech giants going to great lengths to bring back key talent and stay ahead in the AI race.