Amazon's AGI lab head David Luan resigns
What's the story
David Luan, the head of Amazon's artificial general intelligence (AGI) lab, has announced his decision to leave the company. The San Francisco-based lab was established in December 2024 for long-term research projects. Luan joined Amazon through an acqui-hire deal in June 2024, where Amazon hired Adept leaders and licensed its technology. He has held several key positions, including Director at Google Research and VP of Engineering at OpenAI.
Career highlights
AGI lab's work under Luan
Under Luan's leadership, the AGI lab worked on "long-term research bets" such as creating "useful AI agents." In March 2025, the team launched Amazon's Nova Act agent, an extension of its Nova models. The project aims to rival top AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini. Now, Luan is leaving Amazon to focus entirely on teaching AI systems new capabilities.
Structural changes
Major reorganization of Amazon's AGI division
Luan's departure comes after Amazon announced a major reorganization of its AGI division late last year. The division was brought under Peter DeSantis, a 27-year veteran of the company and senior vice president in its cloud unit. Despite his exit, Luan is confident that the team will continue to thrive under DeSantis's leadership.
Next steps
Luan's next move and gratitude toward Amazon
While Luan has not revealed his next move, he has expressed his desire to "swing at the next idea." His departure from Amazon comes after a major reorganization of its AGI division into its AWS Cloud division last year. Despite leaving, Luan is grateful for the trust placed in him during an important time for both Amazon and the field of AI.