June's Google DeepMind exodus caps 23 researcher moves between frontier labs in 2026

Asked:

“Move between the frontier labs this year. For each move, list the researcher, the lab they left, where they went, and the month.”

A web scan of 2,708 deduplicated search results found 23 publicly reported direct moves by technical researchers or research leaders between frontier-model labs from January 1 through September 9, 2026. Each move counts the month it was first publicly reported; public reporting is inherently incomplete, so this is a floor, not a census.

Month-by-month flow of researchers between labs

Left: lab departed · right: lab joined · each ribbon is one researcher, ordered January to September · hover a ribbon or lab for detail

All 23 moves

Click a column header to sort
ResearcherLeftJoinedMonthSource

Method: 23 publicly reported direct moves between frontier-model labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta AI/Superintelligence, xAI, Microsoft AI, Amazon AGI, Thinking Machines Lab, Safe Superintelligence, Mistral AI, Cohere, Moonshot AI), 2026-01-01 to 2026-09-09, from a scan of 2,708 URL-deduplicated search results (2,000 semantically processed in the final broad pass plus an earlier targeted pass). Month is the month of first public report, not payroll start. One duplicate row for Barret Zoph's August move, citing a stale origin, was merged into his OpenAI → Google DeepMind row. One citation is kept per move; public reporting is incomplete and late reports may surface additional moves.

This report was generated automatically by Keenable SELECT at a user's request, from publicly available web sources linked herein. Keenable does not review, verify, or endorse its contents and makes no representation as to accuracy, completeness, or timeliness; AI-based extraction may contain errors. Nothing in this report is investment, legal, financial, or other professional advice. All trademarks and referenced content remain the property of their respective owners; no affiliation or endorsement is implied. To report an error, rights concern, or request removal: legal@keenable.ai.

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