Mark Zuckerberg announces Meta Superintelligence Labs, introduces 11 key hires in leaked memo

Meta

Mark Zuckerberg is stepping up Meta’s AI game in a big way. In a leaked internal memo, which was obtained by The Wire, the Meta CEO revealed that the company is launching Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) — a new division completely focused on building super-powerful AI models.

This new AI lab will bring together all the teams working on Meta’s AI products, research, and its popular open-source model, Llama. Zuckerberg made it clear that he wants to create what he calls “personal superintelligence for everyone.”

The leaked memo also introduced 11 top AI experts who are now part of this mission. Leading the pack is Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI, who joins as Meta’s Chief AI Officer. He’s teaming up with Nat Friedman, the former CEO of GitHub, who will lead the AI product side.

Zuckerberg has managed to pull in some seriously big names from AI giants like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. The list includes people who’ve worked on some of the most advanced AI models out there — from GPT-4o to Gemini and beyond.

For example, there’s Shuchao Bi, who helped build GPT-4o’s voice tech, and Jack Rae, who was behind Google’s Gemini project. Others like Huiwen Chang, Johan Schalkwyk, and Trapit Bansal have played major roles in AI breakthroughs we’re seeing today.

It’s no secret that there’s a full-blown talent war happening in the AI world. OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman even said that Meta has been offering crazy-high signing bonuses — up to $100 million — to attract top researchers.

Zuckerberg says Meta is now doubling down on improving its Llama models while also working on the next generation of AI that could change everything.

“We’re at the start of something huge,” Zuckerberg wrote in the memo. “This is the beginning of a new era for humanity — and we’re all in.”