Meta has restructured its artificial intelligence operations under a new division called Meta Superintelligence Labs, in a bold effort to accelerate its pursuit of artificial general intelligence, Reuters reported on Monday.
The new unit will be led by Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI, who now takes on the role of Chief AI Officer at Meta. The announcement follows a series of internal challenges, including top-level staff departures and lukewarm reception for its latest open-source Llama 4 model — issues that have given rivals like Google, OpenAI, and China’s DeepSeek an edge in the AI race.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is personally driving the initiative, aiming to fast-track AGI breakthroughs and generate new revenue from the Meta AI app, smart glasses, and image-to-video ad products.
In recent weeks, Zuckerberg has aggressively courted top AI talent, including attempts to lure OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and his startup, Safe Superintelligence.
Reports suggest offers included multimillion-dollar compensation packages, with some prospects approached directly via WhatsApp.
Earlier this month, Meta invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI as part of the strategic reshuffle. The new division will also include SSI co-founder Daniel Gross and be co-led by former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, who will oversee AI product development and applied research.
The company has added at least 11 new hires from leading AI firms, including ex-DeepMind researchers Jack Rae and Pei Sun, along with former OpenAI staff such as
Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, Shengjia Zhao, and Hongyu Ren. Joel Pobar, previously of Anthropic and a Meta veteran, also rejoins the company.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently claimed Meta had offered some of his employees bonuses of up to $100 million in a bid to lure them away.
Despite the ambitious push, analysts remain cautious. Meta’s Reality Labs division, responsible for its metaverse strategy, has already consumed over $60 billion since 2020 with limited commercial returns. There are concerns that its AGI bet may follow a similar trajectory.
Still, Meta is not alone. Tech giants are projected to collectively invest $320 billion in AI this year. In 2024, Microsoft spent $650 million to absorb most of Inflection AI’s team, while Amazon has reportedly poached key talent from Adept.
Yet, the goal of achieving AGI remains uncertain. Meta’s own chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, has argued that current machine learning methods are insufficient to reach AGI. Meanwhile, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son remains optimistic, forecasting the breakthrough within a decade.
The creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs marks one of the company’s most aggressive bets yet in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.
