Why Jeff Dean says he left Google after 27 years to build a 4-person AI startup

Google's outgoing chief scientist, Jeff Dean. THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images Jeff Dean, the former chief scientist at Google, left the company earlier this month after 27 years. Dean is now building his own small AI startup called Discovery Loop. Dean said small startups have key advantages over Big Tech companies. After 27 years, it must have been hard for Jeff Dean to let go. Dean, who quit Google to build his own AI startup called Discovery Loop, briefly choked up while describing his decision to leave the search giant after more than a quarter-century during a talk at Stanford University earlier this month. "They have a plan for making the Gemini models awesome," Dean says in a video of the event released on Tuesday, flashing a thumbs up while appearing to choke back tears. The talk, held on August 7, was his first public appearance since leaving Google.