The guy does not claim to be an ML researcher, looks more like a Computer Architecture person, so the fact that you never heard of him does not make him a nobod

The guy does not claim to be an ML researcher, looks more like a Computer Architecture person, so the fact that you never heard of him does not make him a nobody or mean anything really. No ideas have been around "forever", things that may seem obvious to you now often cost other people years of research to come up with. The better the idea, the more obvious it typically appears in hindsight. If Jeff Dean was aware of the work as the Register article states, it probably was significant, and hopefully Google will pay the inventor for his ideas.