Meta’s aggressive push into the artificial intelligence (AI) space has taken a bold new turn with the hiring of two former Apple AI researchers, Mark Lee and Tom Gunter. The duo has reportedly joined Meta’s recently launched Superintelligence Labs division, signaling a deepening tech talent war among major players in the AI arena.
Superintelligence Labs, Meta’s new unit focused on building artificial general intelligence (AGI) and next-generation large language models (LLMs), is led by a powerhouse team that includes former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. The high-profile leadership, combined with lucrative compensation offers running into the millions, is reportedly helping Meta lure top-tier AI talent from rival firms.
According to a Bloomberg report, Lee and Gunter were both instrumental in advancing Apple’s AI initiatives. Their move to Meta follows a broader trend of leading AI researchers leaving more traditional tech companies for more experimental and aggressive research environments, often accompanied by sizable paychecks and greater autonomy.
This development comes amid Meta’s intensified efforts to establish dominance in the fast-evolving AI space. After years of research under the FAIR (Facebook AI Research) division, Meta is now consolidating its efforts under the Superintelligence Labs banner, with a clear ambition to rival OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic.
Industry analysts say the poaching of talent from Apple traditionally secretive about its AI projects could give Meta a competitive edge, especially in areas like on-device AI optimization, privacy-focused machine learning, and scalable LLM deployment.
Meta’s AI ambitions are underpinned by its vast ecosystem spanning Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and the metaverse. By infusing next-gen AI capabilities into these platforms, Meta aims to reshape user experiences and broaden its commercial AI offerings.
As the race to develop AGI heats up, the movement of top researchers across tech giants highlights the fierce competition and growing investment in AI. With Meta’s latest hires, the battle lines in the AI talent war have been clearly redrawn and the stakes have never been higher.
