A former senior researcher at OpenAI has attributed Google’s recent resurgence in artificial intelligence to what he described as OpenAI’s own missteps, calling it a "fumble" rather than a triumph for the search giant. Jerry Tworek, who served as Vice President of Research at OpenAI for nearly seven years, made the remarks during a Wednesday episode of Ashlee Vance’s "Core Memory" podcast. Tworek announced earlier this month that he had left OpenAI to pursue research paths he said are difficult to explore within the company’s current structure. His comments come amid growing internal and external scrutiny of OpenAI’s trajectory, especially after CEO Sam Altman declared a "Code Red" in December, signaling deep concerns over the company’s competitive position. According to Tworek, Google’s rapid advancement—particularly with the release of the Gemini 3 model, which some experts believe has surpassed ChatGPT in capability—was not just a result of Google’s own improvements, but also a consequence of OpenAI failing to maintain its early lead. “Personally, what I think you should consider Google’s comeback, I think it’s OpenAI’s fumble,” Tworek said. He emphasized that OpenAI, which pioneered the generative AI boom with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, should have preserved its dominance given its first-mover advantage and deep technical expertise. “[If] you are a company that is ahead and has all the advantages that OpenAI has, you should always stay ahead,” he added. Tworek credited Google with making critical strategic moves—particularly in taking large language models seriously and investing heavily in infrastructure and talent. He noted that Google’s commitment to AI research intensified at a pivotal moment when OpenAI appeared to lose momentum. “Very clearly, Google started treating seriously at that moment, training large language models—and through OpenAI fumbling its lead, they are very, very close now in capability and in terms of models trained,” he said. He also pointed to the broader industry shift that followed OpenAI’s success: the realization that AI could generate real revenue, which triggered massive investments across the tech sector. But he argued that the pressure to deliver results has made companies like OpenAI more risk-averse. “There are multiple aspects of certain things that are just hard to do in a company that has to compete in an extremely, extremely brutal and demanding race for having the best AI model in the world right now,” Tworek said. “One dynamic is there is naturally how much willingness of risks companies are willing to take from the perspective of trying to not fall behind.” He noted that all major AI companies now face intense pressure to demonstrate user growth, manage soaring GPU costs, and stay ahead in the model race—factors that collectively reduce the appetite for bold, long-term research. A spokesperson for OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.