Meta Reorganizes AI Division into Four Groups for Superintelligence Pursuit

Meta has undertaken a significant reorganization of its artificial intelligence (AI) team, dividing its newly established AI division into four independent groups and reallocating existing AI employees on a large scale. This move is part of the company's efforts to better utilize the top-tier talent it has acquired at a cost of tens of billions of dollars in recent months.

The new structure, as outlined in an internal memo by the Chief AI Officer, is designed to accelerate the company's pursuit of what it calls "superintelligence." The memo highlights the company's strategic reorganization around key areas: research, product development, and infrastructure.

The newly formed group, named "Meta Superintelligence Lab" (MSL), consists of four components. The first is the TBD Lab, led by the Chief AI Officer, which will oversee Meta's large language models, including the Llama tool that supports its AI assistant. The second is FAIR, an internal AI research lab that has been in operation for over a decade and focuses on long-term projects. The third is the Product and Application Research team, led by a former GitHub CEO, which will apply these models and research to consumer products. The fourth component, MSL Infra, will focus on the expensive infrastructure needed to support Meta's AI goals.

The reorganization, which took place on Tuesday, did not involve any layoffs. Meta has been actively recruiting top AI researchers from competitors, offering them high salaries and total compensation packages that can reach hundreds of millions of dollars. The company's CEO has stated that the goal is to achieve superintelligence technology that surpasses human capabilities, with an expected investment of thousands of billions of dollars in talent and infrastructure.

Meta's AI leadership has seen multiple changes in recent years, with several adjustments this year alone as the company seeks to keep pace with competitors. Prior to the June announcement of MSL, Meta had three main AI teams: FAIR, the AI Product Group, and the AGI Foundations team, which focused on generative AI products.

According to the memo, the AGI Foundations team has been disbanded, with its former leaders now focusing on MSL's strategic projects and reporting to the Chief AI Officer. The former head of the AI Product Group has been reassigned to lead the Threads business, a product aimed at competing with a rival platform.

Following the reorganization, a Meta vice president will oversee the MSL infrastructure team, which was previously responsible for the company's AI, data, and developer infrastructure. The head of FAIR, who co-founded the lab in 2014 and returned to lead it this spring after several years at a rival company, will continue in his role.

Additionally, a former leader of the Messenger application, who was reassigned to the generative AI group in February, has left the company to join another firm. This reorganization underscores Meta's commitment to advancing its AI capabilities and staying competitive in the rapidly evolving tech landscape. The company's strategic investments and restructuring efforts aim to position it at the forefront of superintelligence development, ensuring it remains a leader in the AI industry.