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14h ago

Meta’s Superintelligence Labs Debuts as Competition for AI Researchers Escalates

Meta’s unified Superintelligence Labs pools its top researchers, backed by tens of billions in compute spending, to intensify the fight for a limited global pool of AI talent.

AI researcher Trapit Bansal.
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Overview

  • Meta has consolidated its foundational, product and FAIR AI teams into Superintelligence Labs, co-led by Alexandr Wang and Nat Friedman, and staffed the division with at least 11 high-profile researchers from OpenAI and other rivals.
  • The company has reportedly dangled pay packages worth up to $300 million over four years to lure top talent, though Meta spokesperson Andy Stone says those figures have been misrepresented.
  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has branded Meta’s recruiting tactics “distasteful” in a leaked memo and initiated a comprehensive compensation review amid warnings that poaching could erode team culture.
  • Startups, VCs and interns across Silicon Valley say Meta’s aggressive offers have triggered widespread FOMO, driving envy among existing employees and reshaping salary expectations for roughly 2,000 eligible AI specialists.
  • Mark Zuckerberg has underpinned the effort with a $14.3 billion stake in Scale AI and plans to invest $64–72 billion this year on data centers to secure the compute needed for next-generation AI models.