17-year-old former Kimi researcher Chen Guangyu has reportedly joined the startup led by former Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, with the new venture seeking a $50 billion valuation.

Beating AI News: 17-year-old former Kimi researcher Chen Guangyu has been revealed to join Discovery Loop, an AI company founded by former Google chief scientist Jeff Dean. On October 20, Arfur Grok, an anonymous account tracking Silicon Valley AI talent movement, broke the news. Chen announced his departure from Kimi just five days prior; he previously worked on Attention Residuals architecture research and the development of Kimi K3. Discovery Loop was founded in August this year by Jeff Dean and three other Google veterans. The company plans to enable AI to independently propose research hypotheses, run thousands of experiments in parallel, and continuously adjust its approach based on results. It initially focuses on AI model development, with future expansion into sectors including healthcare, materials science, and energy. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is one of its founding investors. The company has not yet launched a public product, but its valuation is already staggering. Business Insider reported in September that Discovery Loop is seeking funding at a valuation of around $50 billion. Earlier, Silicon Valley investor Deedy Das mentioned a 17-year-old who received five million-dollar-level AI job offers; outside speculation pointed to Chen, though Das never publicly disclosed the individual’s identity.