Meta has lost some key members of its Superintelligence Labs (MSL) only months after launching the much-talked-about and expensive initiative, according to a Business Insider report. The majority of the recent departures involve long-time Meta employees rather than newly recruited hires.
Most of the coverage about Meta Superintelligence Labs has been about the company’s recruiting offers in the millions and possibly even more than a billion dollars.
What is the goal of Meta Superintelligence Labs?
Designed to compete with AI giants like Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI, MSL is tasked with optimizing and refining Meta’s Llama AI models, including versions 4.1 and 4.2. However, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, hopes to use MSL to begin researching next-gen AI models within “the next year or so,” according to a memo issued in June.
Long-term employees leaving Meta
At least eight members of MSL have exited since July, several of whom had been with the company for many years. Some of the most notable cases include:
- Afroz Mohiuddin: Joined Meta in 2024, Afrox ultimately left the team in August to join OpenAI.
- Bert Maher: After spending 12 years with Meta and playing a key role in the company’s development of various AI tools, Bert recently accepted a position with Anthropic.
- Chaya Nayak: Left Meta after a tenure of more than eight years to pursue a new opportunity with OpenAI.
- Chi-Hao Wu: Spent five years with Meta before accepting a role as chief AI officer with Memories.ai.
- Tony Liu: Worked with Meta for more than eight years. Liu is currently planning to launch an AI newsletter in the near future.
Chi-Hao Wu, former AI and ML specialist with Meta, told Business Insider why he believes many are leaving the company. “Speaking generally and not for myself, a lot of people in the AI team maybe feel things are too dynamic. There were a lot of organizational changes — actually, my manager changed several times,” he said.
Some of these organizational changes include the sudden restructuring of MSL into several new AI groups. While it’s perfectly normal for employees to leave jobs for other opportunities, the longevity of the individuals leaving Meta cannot be ignored. Moreover, the recent attrition isn’t limited to long-term or senior-level employees.
Others are following their lead
Meta is currently seeing departures from teammates across all levels of seniority. Some of their more recent hires have also announced their departures over the past few weeks, including:
- Avi Verma: Having originally worked for OpenAI, Avi was with MSL for less than a month before rejoining the ranks of OpenAI.
- Ethan Knight: Along with Avi Verma, Ethan Knight left Meta to return to his job with OpenAI.
- Rishabh Agarwal: After working with Meta for approximately five months, Rishabh ultimately left to join Periodic Labs.
A growing number of former MSL staff are resurfacing at rival firms, with OpenAI appearing to be a frequent destination.
Ushering in the age of superintelligence
Recent interviews suggest that Zuckerberg is going all in on superintelligence. While the creation of MSL represents a huge leap toward his goal of delivering “personal superintelligence to everyone,” the recent departure of so many key teammates certainly throws a wrench into his plans — at least for now.
See what Meta’s AI reorganization reveals about its ambitions for superintelligence.