Google is preparing to lose two more prominent artificial intelligence researchers to Anthropic, intensifying concerns about its ability to retain top talent in a fiercely competitive sector. Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel, both considered central to the development of Google’s Gemini AI model, are preparing to join Anthropic, the company behind Claude. Their planned departures come as Google faces a series of high-profile exits from its AI division.
Adler has contributed significantly to Google’s AI coding initiatives, while Pritzel has been closely involved in training advanced AI systems. His research background also includes work associated with AlphaFold: he was among the authors of the 2021 Nature paper “Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold.” The news follows Nobel laureate John Jumper’s recent move to Anthropic and renowned researcher Noam Shazeer’s move to OpenAI. These departures have unsettled investors and cast doubt on Google’s long-term position in the race to develop leading AI models. Alphabet’s shares reflected that uncertainty, closing slightly lower after falling by as much as 1.2% during Wednesday’s trading session.
The wave of exits points to growing pressure on Google from rapidly advancing startups such as Anthropic and OpenAI. Both companies are reportedly nearing public offerings, creating opportunities for employees who join before an IPO to benefit financially. For established tech giants, the trend makes it harder to retain even their most accomplished staff as the prospect of impressive financial rewards elsewhere grows increasingly attractive.
Internal shifts at Google may also be contributing to the departures. In one recent case, computing resources allocated to a project led by Noam Shazeer were reassigned to a team at Google DeepMind in London. The move was intended to encourage greater collaboration and simplify the company’s AI pre-training efforts. Such changes in resource allocation have reportedly prompted some employees to reconsider their future at the company.
Talent departures at DeepMind have also reflected a separate dispute over the company’s military work. BBC reporting identified London-based research engineer Sofia Liguori, who resigned during the week of October 21, 2026, and AI researcher Andreas Kirsch, who left earlier that month, amid employee objections to Google’s military AI contracts and work involving classified settings. The Intercept reported that Liguori’s protest concerned AI use in warfare and targeting, extending beyond autonomous weapons. Google has said its public-sector agreements are subject to a review process.
Adler and Pritzel did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Jumper or Shazeer. Anthropic declined to comment. A Google spokesperson said the company remains confident in its ability to attract and retain top AI talent, citing recent remarks by Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. Hassabis noted that, while competition for talent is intense, Google continues to maintain the largest and most diverse research team among leading AI labs.
The global AI sector has seen a surge in talent mobility as companies race to develop more advanced models and secure a competitive edge. Anthropic and OpenAI, both founded by former employees of major tech firms, have rapidly gained prominence and investment. The movement of basic researchers between these organizations reflects the volatility and high stakes of the current AI field. It has implications for innovation and market leadership, as well as for the future direction of artificial intelligence worldwide.
