Meta Hires Ex-OpenAI Scientist, Buys Into Scale AI

Meta has appointed Shengjia Zhao, a former OpenAI researcher and co-creator of ChatGPT and GPT-4, as Chief Scientist of its newly formed Superintelligence Lab, underscoring Meta's intensified focus on artificial general intelligence (AGI). Zhao, known for his work on foundational AI models and synthetic data research, will lead superintelligence initiatives alongside CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang. Meta has recently recruited top AI talent from OpenAI, Apple, Google, and Anthropic, and has acquired a major stake in Scale AI as part of its aggressive strategy. Compensation packages for AI experts at Meta reportedly reach up to $300 million over four years. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has responded by downplaying the impact of departures, emphasizing Google's strong retention and investment in talent and compute. The escalating competition for AI talent and resources is reshaping the industry as leading tech firms vie for dominance in artificial intelligence.