Meta has reportedly put a stop to its AI hiring spree after securing more than 50 engineers and researchers from their rivals.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the recruitment drive led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg ended last week around the same time the social media giant split its newly formed AI group into four distinct teams.
WSJ’s sources stated Alexandr Wang, Meta’s chief AI officer, could grant permission for more external hires. He formerly served as CEO of Scale AI prior to Meta Platforms making a $14.3 billion investment in the company in June.
The news agency reported the length of the hiring freeze was not communicated internally to the company’s employees. It also noted the AI restructuring effort prohibits employees from moving across the various teams.
Zuckerberg made a concerted effort to woo engineers and employees from rival AI companies over the past several months by reportedly offering nine figure salaries.
The CEO recently announced the formation of a Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) team, a move designed to boost the company’s AI efforts while competing against rivals OpenAI, Microsoft and Google.
Earlier in August, Meta divided its AI resources into four separate teams, which are now part of MSL. WSJ reported a team called TBD Labs is devoted to Zuckerberg’s personal superintelligence effort. TBD Labs is home to many of the new hires.
The second team is dedicated to developing AI products while a third is working on infrastructure, according to WSJ. The fourth Fundamental AI Research team led by Robert Fergus remains the same. The AGI foundations group was recently disbanded.
Zuckerberg is placing big bets on AI in 2025. In April, the tech giant increased its projected capital expenditure for 2025 to $64 billion to $72 billion after previously stating in January it planned capex of $60 billion to $65 billion.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: Meta