Overview
- Financial Times reports that Yann LeCun has told colleagues he intends to leave Meta in the coming months and is beginning to raise funds for a new venture.
- Sources say the startup will focus on 'world models' that learn from video and spatial data, aligning with LeCun’s view that LLMs are useful but fall short on human-like reasoning and planning.
- LeCun’s planned departure follows Meta’s AI reorganization that created Superintelligence Labs, brought in Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead it, and shifted LeCun’s reporting line to Wang.
- The restructuring tracks Llama 4’s underperformance and a year of churn that included about 600 AI research layoffs and the earlier exit of VP Joelle Pineau, with former staff citing internal resource strains.
- Market reaction has been cautious, with Meta shares slipping on the report of LeCun’s plans after a prior double-digit drop when Mark Zuckerberg signaled far higher AI spending.