Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has hired three prominent OpenAI researchers to bolster the company’s efforts in developing superintelligent AI.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has successfully recruited three top researchers from OpenAI in a bid to accelerate its superintelligence efforts. Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai, who were instrumental in setting up OpenAI’s Zurich office last year, have now joined Meta’s ranks. The move comes as Zuckerberg intensifies his drive to place Meta at the forefront of the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
The three researchers bring with them an impressive background, having previously worked together at Google DeepMind before their stint at OpenAI. Their departure from Sam Altman’s AI company was confirmed by an OpenAI spokesperson. The hiring coup underscores Zuckerberg’s determination to attract top talent in the field, with reports suggesting that he has offered some researchers as much as $100 million to join a new team focused on developing superintelligence – AI that surpasses human intelligence.
Beyer confirmed the group was joining Meta in a post to X, but denied a $100 million sign on bonus, calling it “fake news.”
Meta’s AI push has been further bolstered by a recent $14 billion investment in AI startup Scale and the hiring of its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead the new superintelligence team. Zuckerberg has also reportedly attempted to recruit OpenAI co-founders Ilya Sutskever and John Schulman, although they have not accepted his offers thus far.
Despite these high-profile departures, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman remains unperturbed by Zuckerberg’s aggressive recruiting tactics. Speaking at a recent event, Altman quipped, “It’s like OK, Zuckerberg is doing some new insane thing. What’s next?” He also asserted that his best people have not left for Meta.
Zuckerberg’s personal involvement in Meta’s AI recruiting efforts intensified in April following the underwhelming launch of the company’s latest AI model. The Journal reported in May that Meta had decided to delay the release of an even larger version of the model. While some AI researchers have turned down Zuckerberg’s overtures, OpenAI has countered by offering its researchers increased compensation and expanded roles to retain them.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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