Nobel laureate John Jumper is leaving Google DeepMind for Anthropic after nearly nine years

This article was published on June 19, 2026 The AlphaFold creator's departure comes one day after Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer left for OpenAI, marking two landmark talent losses for Google in 48 hours John Jumper, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold, is leaving Google DeepMind after nine years to join Anthropic. John Jumper, the Google DeepMind vice president who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for creating AlphaFold, is leaving the company after nearly nine years to join Anthropic. Jumper announced the move on X on Thursday, saying he would take some time to recharge before starting at the Claude maker. Both Google DeepMind and Anthropic confirmed the departure. “Demis Hassabis took a real chance letting me lead the AlphaFold team just six months after finishing my PhD,” Jumper wrote. Hassabis, who shared the Nobel Prize with Jumper, responded publicly: “What we achieved with AlphaFold changed the world, and showed the field what was possible with AI for science and medicine, lighting the way for how AI can benefit humanity.” The departure lands one day after Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer announced he was leaving Google for OpenAI, making this the second la