Meta launches 'Superintelligence Labs' to build the smartest AI yet
What's the story
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has launched 'Meta Superintelligence Labs' (MSL), a consolidated AI division aimed at advancing "superintelligence"—AI capable of human‑level or beyond performance. The announcement, made in an internal memo, signals Meta's renewed focus on next‑generation AI. Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI, brought in via Meta's $14.3 billion investment in his start-up, assumes the role of Chief AI Officer. Nat Friedman, ex‑GitHub CEO, will partner with him to lead applied research and product strategy.
Future plans
Zuckerberg's vision of personal superintelligence
Zuckerberg's internal memo emphasized his vision of personal superintelligence for everyone. He said, "As the pace of AI progress accelerates, developing superintelligence is coming into sight." The MSL will include all of Meta's foundations, product and FAIR teams as well as a new lab focused on developing the next generation of models. "We're going to start research on our next generation of models to get to the frontier in the next year or so," Zuckerberg wrote in the memo.
Hiring strategy
Meta has recruited experts from rivals such as OpenAI, Google
To reinforce this initiative, Meta has recruited several high‑profile experts from rivals such as OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. Names include Trapit Bansal, Shuchao Bi, Hongyu Ren, Jack Rae, Pei Sun, Joel Pobar, among others. The hiring spree, reportedly supported by eight‑ and nine‑figure offers, reflects Meta's aggressive strategy to catch up in the AI arms race led by OpenAI and Google.
Recruitment tactics
Meta has also hired Daniel Gross, CEO of Safe Superintelligence
Meta has also roped in Daniel Gross, the former CEO of Safe Superintelligence, an AI start-up associated with OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever. The company had previously tried to acquire Safe Superintelligence but was turned down by Sutskever. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that Meta has been poaching AI researchers from his company with signing bonuses as high as $100 million.