Yao Shunyu denies founding an AI company: Still an employee of Google DeepMind

Google DeepMind senior research scientist Yao Shunyu has publicly denied reports that he is launching an AI startup focused on recursive self-improvement (RSI) with a rumored valuation of $2 billion, stating he remains a DeepMind employee and has no idea where the rumors originated. The earlier reports claimed his founding team was largely assembled and aimed to recruit research and engineering talent from top AI labs including Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and OpenAI. This is not the first time Yao has pushed back on the speculation: on October 12 he said he had no plans to raise funding in China and urged people not to waste time on the rumors. The denial matters because the rumored $2 billion valuation had fueled speculation about intensifying competition for elite AI researchers and capital flows in the sector. Watch for whether the startup chatter resurfaces with concrete funding or registration filings, and for any personnel moves between DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic that could signal a real venture.