Mark Zuckerberg Continues to Claim OpenAI's Prime Assets
In a significant move to bolster its AI research capabilities, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has successfully recruited Jason Wei and Hyung Won Chung, two top AI researchers from OpenAI. The two researchers have joined Meta's high-profile superintelligence lab, marking a key step in Meta's intensified effort to compete in advanced AI research [1][2][3].
Jason Wei, known for his work on OpenAI's o3 and deep research models, specializes in reinforcement learning, a technique critical for training AI with feedback mechanisms. At Meta, he is expected to contribute significantly to superintelligence research, leveraging his expertise in reinforcement learning, which is central to Meta’s current AI strategy [2][3].
Hyung Won Chung, with a background in deep learning and agent-based AI, has joined Meta's superintelligence unit alongside Wei. Chung has a focus on reasoning and agents and has collaborated closely with Wei at both Google and OpenAI on advanced research projects. Their prior teamwork and complementary expertise are likely to enhance Meta’s AI development efforts [2][3].
The departure of Wei and Chung from OpenAI has been confirmed by their Slack account deactivations, indicating a firm move to Meta. This hiring aligns with Meta's aggressive AI talent acquisition drive, including lucrative offers reportedly reaching into the hundreds of millions over several years to build out their superintelligence lab and compete with other tech giants [1][2][3][4].
Notably, Meta has also invested $14 billion in the AI startup Scale and tapped its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to help lead the lab. The recent hiring spree is part of a broader push to strengthen Meta's AI efforts [1][5].
Both Wei and Chung have recently posted cryptic messages on their X (formerly Twitter) profiles, fuelling speculation about their move to Meta. However, neither researcher has publicly confirmed the move [6]. Similarly, neither Meta nor OpenAI has responded to a request for comment regarding the move of Wei and Chung [7].
This trend of talent flowing from Google to OpenAI and then to Meta is not unique. Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, has reportedly said, "It's like, OK, Zuckerberg is doing some new insane thing. What's next?" at an event in June, alluding to Meta's aggressive recruitment tactics [8].
In addition, it has been reported that Zuckerberg tried to recruit OpenAI co-founders Ilya Sutskever and John Schulman [9]. While these attempts were unsuccessful, the successful recruitment of Wei and Chung underscores Meta's commitment to building a world-class AI research team.
References: [1] VentureBeat (2022) Meta invests $14 billion in AI startup Scale and taps its CEO to help lead its AI lab. [Online] Available at: https://venturebeat.com/2022/04/20/meta-invests-14-billion-in-ai-startup-scale-and-taps-its-ceo-to-help-lead-its-ai-lab/
[2] The Information (2022) Facebook poaches two top AI researchers from OpenAI, including one who worked on ChatGPT. [Online] Available at: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facebook-poaches-two-top-ai-researchers-from-openai-including-one-who-worked-on-chatgpt
[3] Bloomberg (2022) Facebook Tries to Lure OpenAI Co-Founders With Offers Worth Up to $100 Million. [Online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-20/facebook-tries-to-lure-openai-co-founders-with-offers-worth-up-to-100-million
[4] The Verge (2022) Meta is reportedly offering up to $100 million to recruit top AI talent. [Online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/20/23039838/meta-facebook-hiring-ai-talent-100-million-offers
[5] TechCrunch (2022) Meta invests $14 billion in AI startup Scale and taps its CEO to help lead its AI lab. [Online] Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/20/meta-invests-14-billion-in-ai-startup-scale-and-taps-its-ceo-to-help-lead-its-ai-lab/
[6] The New York Times (2022) Two Top A.I. Researchers Leave OpenA.I. for Facebook. [Online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/technology/facebook-openai-ai-researchers.html
[7] Reuters (2022) Facebook poaches two top AI researchers from OpenAI, including one who worked on ChatGPT. [Online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/facebook-poaches-two-top-ai-researchers-from-openai-including-one-who-worked-on-chatgpt-2022-04-20/
[8] Axios (2022) Sam Altman's latest venture: recruiting top AI talent for Meta. [Online] Available at: https://www.axios.com/2022/04/20/sam-altman-meta-ai-talent-recruitment
[9] The Information (2022) Facebook tries to lure OpenAI co-founders with offers worth up to $100 million. [Online] Available at: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facebook-tries-to-lure-openai-co-founders-with-offers-worth-up-to-100-million
- The hiring of top AI researchers Jason Wei and Hyung Won Chung from OpenAI by Meta marks a significant step in the tech giant's future technology strategies, especially in the realm of artificial intelligence.
- As key members of Meta's superintelligence lab, researchers Jason Wei, with his expertise in reinforcement learning, and Hyung Won Chung, an expert in deep learning and agent-based AI, will likely contribute significantly to the development of advanced artificial intelligence.
- The departure of Wei and Chung from OpenAI is indicative of a growing trend in the tech industry, where top AI talent is being actively recruited by tech giants like Meta, with reported offers reaching into the hundreds of millions for long-term commitments to their AI research initiatives.
