Key Takeaways:
- Shengjia Zhao, a top OpenAI researcher, is now Chief Scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs.
- Meta has hired top talent from OpenAI, DeepMind, and other leading labs to build frontier AI models.
- By 2026, Meta’s Prometheus cluster will provide 1 gigawatt of computing power to fuel its AI ambitions.
Meta is ramping up its artificial intelligence ambitions with a major leadership appointment. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Friday that former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao will officially serve as Chief Scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), a new unit focused on building frontier AI models.
Shengjia Zhao Brings Deep Research Pedigree to Meta
Zhao, a foundational contributor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, GPT-4, and the company’s pioneering reasoning model o1, will lead the research agenda at MSL. He co-founded the new lab and has served as its lead scientist from inception. His appointment formalizes a role he has already been fulfilling, according to Zuckerberg’s post on Threads.
Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI, is overseeing MSL’s operations. While Wang’s selection raised eyebrows due to his non-research background, the addition of Zhao provides the lab with respected scientific leadership and credibility in the broader AI community.
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Meta Recruits AI Talent from OpenAI, DeepMind, and Beyond
Zhao is just one of several elite researchers Meta has lured from top AI organizations. Recent hires include Trapit Bansal, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren — all formerly of OpenAI — as well as talent from Google DeepMind, Apple, Anthropic, and Safe Superintelligence. Internally, Meta has pulled staff from its FAIR (Fundamental AI Research) and generative AI divisions to bolster MSL.
The formation of MSL marks Meta’s attempt to compete directly with leading AI labs like OpenAI and Google DeepMind. Unlike FAIR, which is geared toward long-term research, MSL is focused on near-term breakthroughs and commercially viable models.
Prometheus Cluster Set to Power Future AI Models
To support its new lab, Meta has significantly ramped up investment in AI infrastructure. By 2026, MSL will have access to Prometheus, a 1-gigawatt cloud computing cluster being constructed in Ohio. Once live, it will rank among the largest AI training clusters in the world — giving Meta the firepower to compete in large-scale model training.
This infrastructure will be crucial as Zhao and team target the development of Meta’s answer to AI reasoning models like o1, an area where Meta has yet to establish a strong presence.
Zuckerberg’s AI Gamble: Bold Hires and Billion-Dollar Bets
Meta’s aggressive AI recruitment strategy reportedly includes eight- and nine-figure compensation packages and personal outreach from Zuckerberg himself. These efforts underscore how critical MSL is to Meta’s future — and how seriously it views the race for superintelligence.
With Zhao’s leadership, a deep talent bench, and a robust compute backbone, Meta is better positioned than ever to challenge the dominance of OpenAI, Google, and others in the AI arms race.
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