OpenAI Researchers Depart for Meta's Superintelligence Lab

OpenAI researcher Jason Wei is joining Meta's superintelligence lab, where he will work alongside fellow researcher Hyung Won Chung. Wei previously worked on o3 and deep research models at OpenAI, while Chung worked on deep research and o1 models. Both researchers have a close working relationship and have been recruited from OpenAI, where they worked alongside other researchers poached by Meta.

Meta has recently expanded its superintelligence lab with the addition of two prominent researchers from OpenAI. Jason Wei and Hyung Won Chung, both with extensive backgrounds in deep research models, will join the lab, where they will work alongside other elite researchers [1].

Jason Wei, who previously worked on OpenAI's o3 and deep research models, is known for his expertise in reinforcement learning. His work at OpenAI involved training AI models to process complex queries step-by-step, a method that has become a promising area of AI research [1]. Wei's move to Meta follows a series of high-profile hires, including Ruoming Pang from Apple and Trapit Bansal from OpenAI, who have been lured by Meta's substantial compensation packages [2].

Hyung Won Chung, who worked on deep research and OpenAI's o1 model, specializes in reasoning and agents. Chung has a close working relationship with Wei, having overlapped with him at Google and joined OpenAI at the same time [1]. The hiring of Wei and Chung is part of Meta's ongoing recruitment offensive, which has seen the company poach talent from various AI organizations, including Google DeepMind and Apple [2].

Meta's aggressive hiring strategy is part of its broader vision to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) — AI systems capable of human-level cognition, reasoning, and learning. The company has been investing heavily in AI infrastructure, including the development of a new AI data supercluster called Prometheus and the construction of temporary AI data centers in industrial tents [2].

The addition of Wei and Chung to Meta's superintelligence lab underscores the company's commitment to leading the next frontier of AI. While the details of their roles and compensation packages have not been disclosed, their recruitment is a significant indicator of Meta's seriousness in its AI endeavors.

References:
[1] https://www.wired.com/story/jason-wei-open-ai-meta/
[2] https://www.thehansindia.com/technology/tech-news/metas-mega-ai-push-ex-openai-and-apple-researchers-join-superintelligence-lab-with-rs-1600-cr-offers-988259