Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the appointment of former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao as Chief Scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL). Zhao, who contributed to groundbreaking AI projects like ChatGPT, GPT-4, and OpenAI's first reasoning model, o1, is set to lead MSL's research agenda under the guidance of Alexandr Wang, the lab's recently hired leader.

Zhao's appointment marks a significant milestone for MSL, which has been rapidly expanding its team with top-tier researchers from renowned organizations such as OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Safe Superintelligence, Apple, and Anthropic. Additionally, Meta has reallocated researchers from its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab and generative AI unit to bolster MSL's capabilities.

Zuckerberg's personal involvement in recruiting top talent for MSL demonstrates Meta's commitment to building a world-class AI research team. The Meta CEO has been proactive in reaching out to researchers through personal emails and inviting prospects to his Lake Tahoe estate. Meta has reportedly offered some researchers compensation packages worth eight or nine figures, with "exploding offers" that expire within days.

Meta has also increased its investment in cloud computing infrastructure to support MSL's ambitious AI research goals. By 2026, MSL's researchers will have access to Meta's 1-gigawatt cloud computing cluster, Prometheus, located in Ohio. This massive AI training cluster will enable Meta to compete with industry giants like OpenAI and Google in developing cutting-edge AI models.

With the addition of Zhao, Meta now has two chief AI scientists, including Yann LeCun, who leads Meta's FAIR lab. While FAIR focuses on long-term AI research, MSL is poised to drive innovation in AI reasoning models and other advanced AI technologies. The collaboration between Meta's three AI units remains to be seen, but the company now boasts a formidable AI leadership team to compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.