Meta hires Alexandr Wang to lead $14B AI division: what this means for the future

Meta has made a significant strategic move by hiring Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of ScaleAI, to lead its newly established AI division valued at over $14 billion.

This appointment comes amid CEO Mark Zuckerberg's active pursuit of AI innovation, including exploring acquisitions of startups such as Perplexity and Safe Superintelligence to enhance Meta's AI capabilities.

Additionally, Zuckerberg showed interest in acquiring Thinking Machines Lab, a startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, which recently secured a $2 billion investment at a $10 billion valuation. However, talks did not progress due to valuation and strategic differences.

Meta's aggressive approach extends to talent acquisition, with the OpenAI CEO revealing that Meta has attempted to poach OpenAI employees by offering signing bonuses up to $100 million and lucrative annual compensation packages.

These moves underscore Meta's commitment to becoming a dominant player in the AI sector, leveraging both strategic hires and acquisitions to accelerate development.

Mark Zuckerberg's strategy: "Explored acquiring AI startups like Perplexity and Safe Superintelligence to boost the company's AI development."

OpenAI CEO on Meta's recruitment tactics: "Meta has aggressively tried to poach OpenAI employees, offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million along with substantial annual compensation packages."

With Alexandr Wang at the helm, Meta's AI division is poised to drive innovation and compete fiercely in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.

Meta has appointed Alexandr Wang, former CEO of ScaleAI, to lead its newly formed AI division valued at over $14 billion. This move follows CEO Mark Zuckerberg's efforts to acquire AI startups and aggressively recruit OpenAI talent, signaling Meta's intensified push into artificial intelligence development.