ChatGPT co-creator named Chief Scientist at Meta’s Superintelligence Labs

ChatGPT co-creator named Chief Scientist at Meta’s Superintelligence Labs

Meta Platforms Inc. (META.O) has appointed Shengjia Zhao, co-creator of OpenAI's ChatGPT, as the chief scientist of its newly formed Superintelligence Labs. The announcement, made by CEO Mark Zuckerberg on July 25, marks a significant escalation in Meta's efforts to dominate the artificial superintelligence (ASI) landscape [1].

Zhao's appointment follows a series of strategic hires, including former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, who now serves as Meta's chief AI officer. The move underscores Meta's aggressive push to counter rivals like OpenAI and Google, reflecting the intensifying competition for top AI talent [2].

Zhao's transition from OpenAI to Meta highlights the high-stakes nature of the AI sector, where talent and infrastructure are increasingly seen as commodities. As a key figure in ChatGPT's development, Zhao brings deep experience in large language models (LLMs) and scaling paradigms, areas where Meta has faced criticism for lagging behind. His role as a co-founder of the Superintelligence Lab positions him to lead core research alongside product development, with a focus on open-source models like Llama while integrating proprietary advancements [1][3].

Meta Superintelligence Labs, established in June 2025, consolidates Meta's AI ambitions under one umbrella. The lab aims to advance Meta's ASI roadmap, signaling a shift toward centralized innovation amid recent challenges, including the lukewarm industry reception of the Llama 4 "Behemoth" model [2].

The hiring surge has sparked debate over Meta's recruitment tactics. Reports suggest the company has offered compensation packages worth up to $100 million to OpenAI employees, though Meta spokesperson Andy Stone has denied these figures, calling them "untrue" and "misrepresented." Meta confirmed salary ranges—$850,000 for senior engineers and $1.54 million for E7-level staff—but the reported bonuses and equity grants have intensified scrutiny [2].

Meta's strategy extends beyond personnel. The company has committed $14 billion to Scale AI and pledged hundreds of billions for ASI infrastructure, including "tent-style" data centers and energy-efficient "titan clusters" to power high-compute tasks. A planned Ohio facility, codenamed "Prometheus," aims to operationalize by 2026, reflecting Meta's focus on scaling computational resources [2].

These investments align with industry trends prioritizing hardware and data infrastructure as critical differentiators in the ASI race, though critics argue such spending risks destabilizing the ecosystem by siphoning talent from foundational research. The appointment highlights the high-stakes nature of the AI sector, where talent and infrastructure are increasingly seen as commodities. While Meta’s approach has drawn ethical concerns—OpenAI’s leaked internal memo described the recruitment as a "visceral violation"—Zuckerberg remains undeterred. His vision, as outlined in a June memo, emphasizes direct collaboration with Zhao and Wang to "advance his scientific vision," underscoring a leadership model centered on rapid execution and resource consolidation [1][3].

Whether this strategy will translate into technical breakthroughs or further fragment the AI landscape remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the battle for dominance in ASI is entering a new phase, defined by unprecedented financial stakes and ideological differences.

References:
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-names-chatgpt-co-creator-chief-scientist-superintelligence-lab-2025-07-25/
[2] https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/25/07/46647034/mark-zuckerberg-names-openai-veteran-shengjia-zhao-as-chief-scientist-of-meta-superintelligence-labs
[3] https://www.ainvest.com/news/meta-appoints-chatgpt-creator-head-meta-superintelligence-labs-2507/