Edmonton office of Alphabet AI subsidiary DeepMind to close

Alphabet Inc. says it will close the Edmonton office owned by its artificial intelligence subsidiary DeepMind.

Spokesperson Lauren Skelly says DeepMind's Edmonton office was the only international site directly managed by the subsidiary, making it more resource-intensive than the other DeepMind spaces.

The U.K.-headquartered subsidiary will consolidate its remaining operations, but maintain its Montreal and Toronto offices, which are located within Google-managed buildings.

Skelly says researchers at the Edmonton office have been offered the chance to relocate to another DeepMind site.

The opening of the Edmonton office was announced in 2017.

Catherine Warren, CEO of Edmonton Unlimited, formerly Innovate Edmonton, said although it's hard for the city to lose a flagship research venture — especially one tied to a household name like Google — they still believe Edmonton's AI ecosystem will continue to thrive. 

"For home grown companies recruiting AI talent, DeepMind layoffs can mean new hiring opportunities and talent is a big challenge here," she told CBC's Edmonton AM Wednesday.

"Additionally, a number of outgoing DeepMind experts may in fact become tomorrow's AI entrepreneurs staying in Edmonton and growing local tech startups."

She said Edmonton Unlimited can help connect those laid off with local companies and with programs to launch and grow tech companies in the city. 

Edmonton is one of the fastest growing tech sectors in North America, Warren added.

The Edmonton closure comes after Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai told staff last week that his company would be laying off 12,000 workers because it had hired for a different economic reality than the one that materialized.

Shopify, Wealthsimple, Clearco and Hootsuite are also among the slew of tech companies which have made job cuts in recent months.

The DeepMind announcement comes days after Google's parent announced it would lay off 12,000 employees.

Alphabet's layoffs follow thousands of layoffs at tech giants including Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Meta Platforms Inc, which are cutting costs and downsizing after a pandemic-led hiring spree left them flabby in a weak economy.

Researchers have been offered the option to relocate to another DeepMind office, such as DeepMind Montreal, based in Google's Montreal office, a DeepMind spokesperson said.

Google acquired DeepMind in 2014, putting the tech giant ahead in the AI race than most of its peers.

But competition escalated after Microsoft-backed OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT boosted investor interest in the promise of generative artificial intelligence.

"I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI," Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai said in a Jan. 20 blog post.