Tim Brooks, who co-led OpenAI’s Sora video generator project, departed to work for Google DeepMind. Brooks said on X that he will be working at Google’s AI research branch on “world simulators” and video production. After working at OpenAI for two years, where he assisted in the early days of the Sora project, a tool for creating videos, he is leaving the company.
Brooks thanked his coworkers at OpenAI and highlighted his excitement for the upcoming chapter at DeepMind in his post. Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, greeted Brooks and expressed excitement about working with him on the ambitious project of building a world simulator. Though it is not well defined, the term “world simulator” alludes to the creation of virtual, controllable settings. DeepMind has been experimenting with this idea with its Genie model, which creates playable, interactive worlds from a range of sources.
Brooks’ leave is another in a string of high-profile exits from OpenAI. With Sora, OpenAI has recently encountered technical difficulties, such as lengthy processing times when creating videos. According to reports, it took the original technology, unveiled in February, more than ten minutes to produce a one-minute video clip. In order to compete with rivals like Runway and Luma, which have been making rapid technological advancements in video creation, OpenAI is currently working to enhance Sora.
On the other hand, Google has its own approach for creating videos called Veo, which was unveiled earlier this year and is going to be incorporated into YouTube Shorts. With the departure of notable individuals like Mira Murati, Bob McGrew, and Greg Brockman, among others, Brooks’ transfer to DeepMind joins the growing list of OpenAI talent moving on to new ventures.