Google’s Rick Osterloh to Lead New Team Focused on AI

Google’s going through some big changes – the Mountain view company has spent the past couple of years bringing AI to its software and hardware products, and it looks like it’s doubling-down on its efforts to further develop such technology. With that in mind, Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently announced that the company will undergo internal restructuring to achieve this goal.

This includes establishing a new team within Google that will oversee the company’s Pixel product line, and will be led by Google Veteran Rick Osterloh. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Google’s Devices and Services division; the new post was also confirmed via Osterloh’s official social media account.

Excited to take on this new challenge and accelerate AI innovation across the Android ecosystem, I look forward to working with @Cristianoamon and his team and increasing our strategic collaboration with @Qualcomm and @Snapdragon for Android, not just in mobile but across…

— Rick Osterloh (@rosterloh) April 18, 2024

Speaking to The Verge, Osterloh states that a combined team will allow Google to integrate AI technologies into its many products (presumably including its smartphones). In the interview, he comments:

“We have a really quick way to get the latest research, the latest models, from DeepMind… A lot of times, that will mean figuring out how we build a new application based on the output of our latest model, and being able to move people around quickly to do that.”

In the past, Google usually separated its own hardware efforts from its work with the broader Android ecosystem, in order to avoid complications with third parties and partners. This time around however, the company seems to be more focused on bringing Android and its Pixel brand closer than ever, with a good dash of AI sprinkled in between.

READ: Google’s AI Editing Tools will Arrive for Non-Pixel Phones, with a Catch

With all that being said, Osterloh wasn’t the only big name to have been assigned to a new post – Hiroshi Lockheimer, previously in charge of products including Android and ChromeOS, will move over to other projects within Google and Alphabet.

Source: The Verge