Meta Names Former OpenAI Researcher as Chief Scientist for Superintelligence AI Group

Meta has appointed Shengjia Zhao, a former OpenAI researcher, as the chief scientist for its superintelligence AI group. Zhao was part of the team behind the original version of OpenAI's popular chatbot, ChatGPT. He will report to Alexandr Wang, Meta's Chief AI Officer. The move is part of Meta's aggressive recruitment efforts to keep pace with rivals in the AI race.

Meta has appointed Shengjia Zhao, a former OpenAI researcher, as the chief scientist for its superintelligence AI group. Zhao, who was part of the team behind the original version of OpenAI's popular chatbot, ChatGPT, will report to Alexandr Wang, Meta's Chief AI Officer. This move is part of Meta's aggressive recruitment efforts to keep pace with rivals in the AI race.

Zhao's appointment comes as Meta has been on a multibillion-dollar AI hiring blitz, highlighted by a $14 billion investment in Scale AI [1]. In June, Zuckerberg announced a new organization called Meta Superintelligence Labs, which is made up of top AI researchers and engineers. Zhao's name was listed among other new hires in the June memo, but Zuckerberg said Friday that Zhao co-founded the lab and "has been our lead scientist from day one" [2].

Zhao's transition from OpenAI to Meta underscores the intensifying competition for top AI talent. 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 [3].

Meta Superintelligence Labs will be where employees work on foundation models such as the open-source Llama family of AI models, products, and Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research projects. The social media company will invest "hundreds of billions of dollars" into AI compute infrastructure, Zuckerberg said earlier this month [1].

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, a claim denied by Meta spokesperson Andy Stone, who called the figures “untrue” and “misrepresented.” While Meta confirmed salary ranges—$850,000 for senior engineers and $1.54 million for E7-level staff—the reported bonuses and equity grants have intensified scrutiny [2].

Zuckerberg’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].

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 divides.

References:
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/25/zuckerberg-shengjia-zhao-meta-ai-lab-chief-scientist-openai.html
[2] https://www.ainvest.com/news/meta-appoints-chatgpt-creator-shengjia-zhao-chief-scientist-lead-asi-lab-2507/
[3] https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/25/meta-names-shengjia-zhao-as-chief-scientist-of-ai-superintelligence-unit/