Google loses Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel to Anthropic

Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel are leaving Google for Anthropic, Bloomberg says, a shift highlighted in TechCrunch on June 24, 2026. Both researchers are named as having played key roles in the development of Google’s Gemini model. TechCrunch reached out to Google for comment.

Who are Adler and Pritzel and what did they work on?

Adler and Pritzel are credited with important contributions to Google’s Gemini model: Adler worked on AI-powered coding while Pritzel focused on training AI systems, according to reporting that cites Bloomberg and further context from The Decoder. Their moves follow a string of recent exits by senior AI staff from Google.

Both names were singled out by the coverage because of their direct involvement with Gemini. That model is explicitly referenced by TechCrunch as the project they helped develop, making their departures notable inside Google’s AI teams.

Which other departures are part of this pattern?

The exits include several high-profile departures in June 2026: Gemini lead Noam Shazeer announced he was leaving Google for OpenAI, TechCrunch notes that Shazeer had been at Google since 2000 except for three years building Character.AI, which Google effectively acqui-hired for $2.7 billion. Just days after Shazeer’s announcement, Google DeepMind director John Jumper said he was leaving Google for Anthropic. Jumper and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on AlphaFold.

The Decoder’s coverage adds that these departures spooked investors and dragged down Alphabet’s stock, and that a SignalFire analysis found DeepMind engineers switch to Anthropic eleven times more often than the other way around.

Why are researchers moving to rivals now?

Rivals have near-term financial incentives that Google’s departures make visible: TechCrunch highlights that OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing to go public, creating opportunities for employees to receive equity packages. That timing, combined with Anthropic and OpenAI recruiting aggressively, appears to be drawing senior researchers away.

The pattern also includes personal and programmatic connections. TechCrunch notes Google had effectively brought Shazeer back to work on Gemini by acqui-hiring Character.AI, and the roster of exits reaches into both Gemini and DeepMind leadership.

Why it matters

Losing staff who helped build Gemini and key DeepMind leadership narrows Google’s immediate bench on projects the company has emphasized publicly. The departures create a practical gap in teams working on model development and training, while IPO-driven equity at rivals changes compensation calculus for senior researchers. That dynamic raises recruiting and retention as concrete challenges for Google in the months ahead.

Demis Hassabis pushed back publicly at an event in Cannes, saying, "Google has the deepest research bench of any AI lab," an assertion the company will now have to defend against a steady flow of defections.

What to watch

Watch announcements from Anthropic and OpenAI about IPO timelines and equity plans, which the coverage ties to hiring momentum. Also track Alphabet’s stock for investor reactions and any public statements from Google about hiring or retention measures. The pace and scale of future senior hires departing Google will either confirm or blunt the trend described here.