Meta's Superintelligence Labs Hit by Departures as AI Race Heats Up
Meta's Superintelligence Labs has faced a series of departures, with prominent AI researchers Avi Verma and Ethan Knight returning to OpenAI shortly after joining. Tensions between CEO Mark Zuckerberg and lab head Alexandr Wang over superintelligence timelines may have played a role.
The labs, founded to develop an omnipotent super-AI, have seen several top researchers leave. Shengjia Zhao, co-creator of OpenAI's ChatGPT, initially joined Meta as 'Chief AI Scientist' but left within days, reportedly due to threats to return to OpenAI. Rishabh Agarwal also departed, seeking 'new kinds of risk'.
The labs, consisting of poached talent from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Apple, operate largely isolated from the rest of Meta. OpenAI, in response to Meta's hiring attempts, is improving its own working conditions. Meta's aggressive hiring strategy includes compensation packages of up to $300 million over four years. Chaya Nayak, previously Meta's generative AI lead, is also joining OpenAI.
The high-profile departures and aggressive hiring at Meta's Superintelligence Labs highlight the intense competition in AI development. The labs' isolation and Zuckerberg's ambitious timeline for superintelligence may be factors in the turnover. Meanwhile, OpenAI is responding to Meta's poaching attempts and strengthening its own team.
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