Two top Google researchers defect to Anthropic

Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel, core developers on the Gemini model, are leaving Google for Anthropic. Adler worked on AI-powered coding tools, while Pritzel focused on neural network training processes.

The departures add to a string of Google exits, including Nobel laureate John Jumper, who also joined Anthropic, and researcher Noam Shazeer, who picked OpenAI.

Insiders tie the talent drain to shifting priorities around compute resource allocation. Google leadership, however, expresses confidence in its talent pool. DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis notes the current competition for specialists is the most intense in industry history.