Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Jeff Dean and Top Google AI Researchers Launch Discovery Loop
Jeff Dean is a very smart computer scientist who worked at Google for almost 27 years, helping to build Google's artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Now he is leaving Google to start a new company called Discovery Loop with some of his colleagues and friends.
Google is expected to buy a small part of the new company, so the teams will stay connected.
Discovery Loop wants to build super-smart computer programs that can help solve very hard problems.
Later, these programs could be used to design computer chips, study biology, find new medicines, and discover new materials.
Some of Google's smartest AI scientists, like Oriol Vinyals and Quoc Le, are joining Jeff Dean on this adventure.
Many companies hope AI can help invent new medicines and make faster chips, and Google has already used AI for both with AlphaFold and its TPU chips.
Jeff Dean's move is part of a bigger trend of top AI scientists leaving big companies to start their own.
Discovery Loop hasn't shared how much money it has yet, so people are waiting to see what this new team will build.
Jeff Dean is leaving Google after nearly 27 years to launch a new AI startup called Discovery Loop.
Discovery Loop is co-founded with Sanjay Ghemawat and two other prominent AI researchers, with Google expected to take a stake.
Oriol Vinyals, DeepMind's vice president of research and a Gemini technical lead, and Quoc Le, a Google Brain co-founder, are joining the venture.
The startup will initially focus on advanced machine learning algorithms that can serve as the foundation for AI systems solving complex, multi-domain problems.
Long-term targets include semiconductor chip design, biology, drug discovery and materials science, areas where Google has invested via AlphaFold and its Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips.
- Who
- Jeff Dean, joined by Sanjay Ghemawat, Oriol Vinyals, Quoc Le and two other AI researchers, all leaving Google.
- What
- Launching Discovery Loop, a startup focused on advanced machine learning algorithms and their application to chip design, biology, drug discovery and materials science.
- When
- Announced after Jeff Dean's nearly 27 years at Google; no specific date was reported.
- Where
- Google, the U.S.-based search giant; the new startup's location was not reported.
- Why
- To build foundation AI systems that solve increasingly complex problems across multiple domains, reflecting a broader trend of top AI researchers founding startups.
- Startup name
- Discovery Loop
- Departing researcher
- Jeff Dean, after nearly 27 years at Google
- Co-founders
- Sanjay Ghemawat and two other prominent AI researchers
- Key new joiners
- Oriol Vinyals (DeepMind VP of Research, Gemini technical lead) and Quoc Le (Google Brain co-founder)
- Initial focus
- Advanced machine learning algorithms for AI systems solving complex, multi-domain problems
- Long-term focus
- Semiconductor chip design, biology, drug discovery and materials science
- Google involvement
- Expected to take a stake in the new company
- Funding
- Not disclosed