Meta Platforms has frozen hiring within its AI division after a months-long period in which it recruited more than 50 researchers and engineers, including talent from OpenAI, Google, Apple, xAI, and Anthropic.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this measure took effect last week and is accompanied by a reorganization of the AI department.
Meta reports that this is not a cost-cutting measure. It is an internal plan to split the AI organization into four separate teams. A spokesperson called it basic organizational planning, aimed at laying a solid foundation for superintelligence initiatives and annual budget agreements.
All AI activities will now fall under the umbrella concept of Meta Superintelligence Labs, consisting of four teams with their own focus. There will be a TBD Lab for advanced AI development, a team for AI products such as the Meta AI assistant, an infrastructure team, and a department for long-term research called Fundamental AI Research. The term TBD Lab probably stands for To Be Determined or To Be Defined. It is currently serving as a working name for an experimental unit focused on the most ambitious AI projects, including research into superintelligence. The existing group behind the Llama models, AGI Foundations, has been dissolved after the most recent models performed below expectations.
Investors concerned about salaries
Investors are expressing concerns about the extremely high salaries Meta is offering new AI talent. Analysts point to the rising costs of stock compensation, which could come at the expense of shareholder returns if the promised innovations fail to materialize. Meta also adjusted its capital expenditures for this year to up to $72 billion.
Under the leadership of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, personal involvement played a prominent role in the recruitment process. He approached candidates directly via email and WhatsApp and, in some cases, offered total compensation packages in the nine figures. In one case, an offer reportedly reached $1.5 billion for a researcher, who ultimately turned it down.
At the same time, Meta invested billions in infrastructure projects and AI startups. For example, it acquired a $14 billion stake in Scale AI, appointing founder Alexandr Wang as Chief AI Officer. Former leaders such as Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross also joined the new AI lab.
The hiring freeze also applies to internal transfers within the AI division, except cases explicitly approved by Alexandr Wang.