Google Engineers Receive Credit for Stock Pop at Developer Conference

Google employees paid close attention to the annual developer conference and Wall Street’s positive reaction to it, with many staffers crediting the company’s engineers for the 4.3% stock increase that followed. According to internal conversations viewed by CNBC, employees praised their colleagues who worked to get the products ready for prime time as part of a company-wide effort to compete in AI. The most popular meme on Google’s internal site, Memegen, showed side-by-side images of parent company Alphabet’s stock price, with the left chart showing the stock price going down and “Execs cost cutting and buying back stock” written above it, and the right chart showing the stock going up with the words “Eng[ineers] getting stuff done” below it.

Google Showcases Generative AI Technology

Google’s new general-use large language model (LLM) called PaLM 2, announced at the developer conference, helped Alphabet’s shares jump to their highest since August, rallying 11% for the week. Google has been under pressure to showcase its generative AI technology since OpenAI’s ChatGPT public release last year. Google’s advancements to the AI technology powering Bard and search, some of which CNBC had previously reported, were also announced. Google employees showed excitement for updates to Bard, especially features geared towards coders, like “dark mode,” which received a loud applause. Employees also praised Dave Burke, vice president of engineering, for his Android 14 presentation and the authenticity he showed on stage.

After the company’s stock price sank 7% following an event in February, at which Google promoted its AI chatbot Bard, employees described CEO Sundar Pichai’s announcement as “rushed” and “botched.” Google has since been working quickly to bring its consumer AI services to market. The company has been criticized for Pichai’s stock award of over $200 million for 2022 and the authorization of a $70 billion buyback as it slashes jobs and cuts costs. Alphabet shares are up 33% this year after losing close to 40% of their value in 2022.