Noam Shazeer is an influential American computer scientist and entrepreneur renowned for his groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence and deep learning. He joined Google in 2000, where he made significant contributions, including enhancing the spelling corrector for Google’s search engine. His most notable achievement came in 2017 as a lead author of the seminal paper “Attention Is All You Need,” which introduced the transformer architecture—a revolutionary framework that has since transformed natural language processing.

At Google, Shazeer collaborated with colleague Daniel De Freitas to develop the chatbot Meena, which aimed to create more natural and engaging conversations. However, following Google’s decision not to release the chatbot to the public, Shazeer and De Freitas left the company in 2021 to co-found Character.AI. This venture focuses on building advanced conversational agents, leveraging their expertise in AI to create more personalized and interactive user experiences.

In August 2024, Shazeer made headlines with his return to Google to co-lead the Gemini AI project. His appointment as technical lead, alongside renowned AI experts Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals, signals a new chapter in Google’s AI endeavors, particularly following a $2.7 billion deal to license Character.AI’s technology.

Shazeer’s contributions have significantly advanced the fields of machine learning and AI, positioning him as a key figure in shaping the future of human-computer interaction. His work continues to inspire innovations in how machines understand and engage with language, pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve.