Meta wants to speed its race to ‘superintelligence'—but investors will still want their billions in ad revenue

Yahoo

14 hours ago

Meta is doubling down on its so-called race to 'superintelligence,' reshuffling its AI organization once more as its new Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) group takes shape. But analysts say investors are keeping their eye on the prize Meta has always promised: improved products that increase engagement and, in turn, sell more ads. Superintelligent AI models, if they arrive, are just a means to that end.
This time it's former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang—brought on by Mark Zuckerberg in June as chief AI officer—leading the reorganization. Wang, who now oversees a sprawling operation of thousands of engineers, scientists, and product managers, is looking to rein it in, reportedly resulting in some expected executive departures and at least one team shutdown.
Wang was hired to help recruit a small, high-priced cadre of researchers—some reportedly offered compensation packages exceeding $100 million, typically spread out over several years—now perched at the pinnacle of Meta's AI effort. But that group is only the tip of the spear: The new restructuring folds the entire AI organization into MSL, with four new groups focused on research, training, products, and infrastructure, all part of a bid for speed. The quartet of group leaders will all report to Wang, including well-known investor and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, who will lead product and applied research, and former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao, who will lead the research team as chief scientist.
In a recent email to employees, which detailed the restructuring, Wang acknowledged that reorganizations can be disruptive but insisted the new structure would 'allow us to reach superintelligence with more velocity over the long term.' (Meta did not respond to Fortune's request to confirm the contents of the email, which were published by Business Insider.)
Investors, meanwhile, seem to have mixed feelings: Meta's stock slid more than 2% on the news today, but climbed most of the way back by market close.
The share-price slide also reflects broader market jitters, as overheated AI and Big Tech names come off recent highs, said Daniel Newman, CEO of research firm the Futurum Group. He said he expects a 'modest correction' but noted that Meta has 'had an incredible run' and recently 'delivered a great quarter once again.' Still, analysts are eyeing Zuckerberg's nine-figure paydays for top AI researchers and his repeated reorganizing, and watching for signs that Meta will close the gap in the AI race. 'Of course there is some concern,' Newman said, pointing out that numerous frontier models from OpenAI, xAI, and Google continue to improve, while Meta's open-source Llama models have 'seemingly stalled.'
'We think the team at Meta, after Zuckerberg's hiring spree, will need a period of acclimation before it finds the velocity to develop more competitive solutions,' he said.
Feeding Meta's product machine
That need for speed, however, is best understood as an extension of Meta's product machine rather than a bid to solve humanity's greatest challenges. While Meta has dabbled in moonshot AI through its FAIR research lab (cofounded by chief scientist Yann LeCun), rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic and spinoffs such as Thinking Machines Lab and Safe Superintelligence have made the pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AI generally defined to be as smart as humans) and superintelligence (AI far smarter than humans) their central mission.Meta's mission, by contrast, has remained the same as it was before 'superintelligence' became a buzzword: improving the products that power engagement on its massively profitable social-media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The advertising on those platforms is the source of nearly all of Meta's revenue, which reached $46.6 billion in the most recent quarter.
Zuckerberg underscored this focus last month with an Instagram Reel and blog post in which he said AI is rapidly advancing and that we're beginning to see 'glimpses of AI systems improving themselves.' Superintelligence is now 'in sight,' he added—but while rival AI companies talk about scientific or economic breakthroughs, his vision is aimed squarely at the individual: a personalized AI that helps you 'achieve your goals, create what you want to see in the world, be a better friend, and grow to become the person that you aspire to be.'
That framing neatly aligns with what Meta has always built—consumer-facing experiences designed to keep people engaged (and sell more ads). To Zuckerberg, superintelligence also means powering the future of AI-infused personal devices, specifically augmented-reality glasses that can 'see what we see, hear what we hear, and interact with us throughout the day.'
Newman said he continues to like Meta's prospects because the company 'isn't as dependent on the research end of its business, as it is using AI to continue to create higher daily active user numbers—and of course, the coinciding revenue continues to rise as well.'
But Forrester's Mike Proulx countered that there is no doubt Meta is laser-focused on building 'the best and most powerful AI models, period,' he told Fortune. 'The race is on, and Meta is lagging against competitors. A concerted focus on superintelligence gives Meta a North Star to rally around both strategically and operationally.'
Zuckerberg echoed that sentiment on Meta's most recent earnings call, stressing that AI is at the center of each of Meta's five focus areas. But Proulx pointed out that it was AI glasses—not the company's family of apps—that Zuckerberg highlighted on that call as 'the main way' superintelligence will enter people's daily lives.
Overall, Proulx said he is not concerned with the seemingly constant upheaval in Meta's AI organization. 'This space is moving at breakneck speed. As with any emerging tech race, there's inevitably going to be a lot of pivoting. It comes with the territory,' he said.
For all the lofty talk of superintelligence, however, Meta's AI reshuffling shows its bets are mostly still the same: personalized products that keep billions scrolling, ads flowing—and soon, AI-powered glasses perched on every face. How the company fares will be closely watched: 'The question now is whether the team is effectively enabled to deliver, or not,' said Proulx.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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