Priscilla Chan's recruiting pitch? We can't pay as well as tech companies, but we've got GPUs
Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg's wife and the cofounder of the couple's philanthropic organization, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, spoke about the appeal of massive GPU clusters for biology researchers during a recent episode of Ashlee Vance's "Core Memory" podcast.
"The other thing researchers really care about is access to GPUs," she said. "You're not going to make the most of someone if you don't actually have the GPUs for them to work from."
Chan said, "We have that at CZI," adding that the organization has roughly 1,000 GPUs in its cluster, with plans to keep growing.
In short, Chan said the pitch is: "Come work with us because we're going to have the computing power to support the research that you want to do."
Another important factor is compensation, which she said is "obviously important," though she added that "we cannot compete with tech companies on this."
CZI has in recent years narrowed its mission to focus on its "next phase" with a "bolder, clearer identity as a science-first philanthropy." The change marks a strategic shift, as the organization previously also supported education and other causes.
"While CZI remains committed to our work in education and our local communities, we recognize that science is where our biggest investments and bets have been and will be made moving forward," Chan, a pediatrician by training, wrote in a memo to staff last year.
Zuckerberg made a similar point about the importance of GPUs in recruiting on a recent episode of The Information's TITV show. Meta is spending billions to build an AI division it calls Superintelligence Labs.
"Historically, when I was recruiting people to different parts of the company, people are like, 'Okay, what's my scope going to be?'" the Meta CEO said. "Here, people say, 'I want the fewest number of people reporting to me and the most GPUs.'"
Meta, of course, has significantly more GPUs than CZI. Zuckerberg has said the company will have 1.3 million GPUs for AI by the end of 2025.
"Having basically the most compute per researcher is definitely a strategic advantage, not just for doing the work but for attracting the best people," he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Your Attention Is Being Sold: 4 Strategies To Protect It
New data underscores the booming business of attention—with advertising spend outpacing consumer ... More spend. Feeling increasingly distracted? New data suggests it's not in your head. According to PwC, global entertainment and media revenues are projected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2029. What's fueling growth? Buying and selling attention. The report highlights that advertising spend is projected to grow three times faster than consumer spend (6.1% vs 2% CAGR). When companies are willing to pay a cost per click, the world is designed to distract - and that design is profitable. Distraction isn't a personal flaw. In 2025, when attention is more commoditized than ever, the smarter move is to prepare for distraction—and sharpen strategies for when it inevitably happens. Attention: Profitable for Companies. Costly for Consumers. Consumer focus is incredibly valuable - to companies. Just as an example, Meta's 2025 revenue, over $164 billion across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more, comes largely from ads. But what these platforms really monetize is time and attention. As a result, if attention is profitable for companies, it is costly for people in ways that add up: Lost Productivity: Research aggregated by UC Berkeley shows it can take between 8 and 23 minutes to return to deep focus after an interruption. What does this mean? Getting distracted three times in a day, even if briefly, could mean an hour of overall lost productivity. Mental Health: Studies link frequent phone connection to poor sleep quality and higher stress. Addiction: Reports suggest that it can take just 30–35 minutes of scrolling on TikTok to trigger addictive patterns. As Dr. Thekla Brumder Ross, clinical psychologist, addiction and well-being expert, shared in a Zoom interview, 'The average American spends 12 hours a day on a screen… it's rewiring our dopamine reinforcement loops. And there is no current criteria in the DSM-5 for general technology addiction." Decreased Joy: Time away from phones, especially in motion, has been tied to higher life satisfaction. Small pockets of disconnection matter. Attention Management: Four Strategies to Sharpen Focus What can you do? One tactic is simply disabling alerts; a 2025 Reuters analysis found 43% of respondents turned off news notifications. However, in work and life total disconnection is rarely possible and platforms will continue innovating ways to pursue attention. Better than unplugging is a plan: build a deliberate playbook to manage connection and handle distraction. Here are four strategies to do exactly that: At least once a day take a 5-10 minute phone-free walk. Use the time for social connection or simply enjoy your own thoughts, not someone else's. Try this: When you go get coffee, swing by a coworker's desk, or step outside, leave the phone behind at least once next week. Use your phone to help manage your focus. Try This: Go beyond 'Do Not Disturb' by programming focus modes by day, time and app for different work and life scenarios. For example, if you prioritize deep work from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays but still need to be reachable for family or a key client, you can program a mode that allows only those calls and blocks social apps. As new scenarios arise, take 30 seconds to create a focus mode for it so you are ready next time. Brumder Ross recommends a strategy called 'Release the Grip' to promote intentional phone use. Try This: Instead of grabbing your device, place your palm gently on top of it, turn it face up and ask, 'What do I need in this moment?' This is a self-compassion check. Maybe you need to knock out a few transactional tasks. Maybe you don't. Maybe you simply need to write a note and handle it later. The question interrupts the impulse to scroll and clarifies intent. Every notification creates an opening. First Slack, then LinkedIn, then the pull to check one more thing. Instagram. Being reachable isn't just about responsiveness. It's about attention - and how easily it gets redirected. As a result, managing distraction means managing expectations. 'No one is going to communicate your boundaries for you. You have to do that,' Brumder Ross says. Try This: Clarify when you're reachable and how. Use tools people actually check: calendar blocks, Slack statuses or away messages like 'Heads down until 2:00 p.m., back after.' However, setting the boundary isn't enough - you have to enforce it. If you respond during focus time, you're signaling that you're available. Particularly for anyone leading a team or managing others, modeling how you manage your focus offers permission for others to do the same. Companies Have a Strategy for Your Attention. Create Your Own. The attention economy is only getting louder. However, as Brumder Ross highlights, 'You can't control what the tech companies do, but you can control where you put your attention." The news cycle will not slow. Work will not pause. Connection is part of modern life. However, you may not have to fight the current or disengage completely. The key takeaway is to simply have strategies for managing distraction and engaging with technology on your terms. Reclaiming focus isn't about perfection. It's about practice - and power.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
What Analysts Think of Meta Stock Ahead of Earnings
Meta Platforms (META) is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the closing bell Wednesday, with analysts overwhelmingly bullish on the tech giant as it invests heavily in AI. Of the 27 analysts covering Meta who are tracked by Visible Alpha, 25 have a "buy" or equivalent rating for the stock, alongside two "hold" ratings. Their consensus price target near $755 implies 6% upside over the stock's Friday closing price near $713. Meta's AI infrastructure spending plans will be in focus, particularly after Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) on Wednesday raised its projected 2025 capital expenditures to $85 billion from $75 billion. Meta has said it expects to spend $64 billion to $72 billion in capex this year, a figure Wells Fargo analysts said earlier this month they expect to reach $76.7 billion in 2026. Analysts Say Expectations for Meta's Returns Are Rising Meta's leadership is 'taking decisive action to fortify its AI bets,' the bank wrote, raising its price target to $783 from $664. 'The market has received the investments favorably, but expectations for the returns also [are] rising.' CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been on an AI hiring spree lately, even getting personally involved in recruiting talent for Meta's "Superintelligence" unit. The company reportedly offered a pay package valued at more than $200 million to lure an Apple (AAPL) executive in charge of AI models, and its other recent hires have included former Github CEO Nat Friedman and ex-Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. Analysts on average expect Meta to report second-quarter revenue of $44.81 billion, up 15% year-over-year, and net income of $15.19 billion, or $5.89 per share, gaining from $13.47 billion, or $5.16 per share, a year earlier. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNET
6 hours ago
- CNET
Meta Debuts More Instagram Protections for Teen Users. Here's What's New
Meta this week unveiled the latest efforts it's making to bolster the safety of teens and kids on its social media apps, with a particular focus on the teen-skewing Instagram. The company has touted these new features for Instagram in a blog post, most notably adding more information and warnings about accounts that teens might try to contact via direct messages. "We've added new safety features to DMs in Teen Accounts to give teens more context about the accounts they're messaging and help them spot potential scammers," the post explained. "Now, teens will see new options to view safety tips and block an account, as well as the month and year the account joined Instagram, all prominently displayed at the top of new chats." DMs have also been given new block and report function, which Meta claims will allow and encourage users to do both at the same time when they run into sketchy accounts. The company also reported that in June, 1 million Teen Accounts reported or blocked accounts, and another 1 million used the Location Notice feature to see if an account messaging them was in a different country. Speaking to CNET, Meta confirmed that the new DM features and the block/report options are exclusive to Instagram for now, but that they "may explore bringing them to [Facebook] Messenger in the future." The safety and location notices touted in the blog post are available on Instagram and Facebook. Meta has faced many accusations over the years about the effects its platforms have on minors. Just last year, bombshell accusations emerged from a memoir by a Meta whistleblower, claiming that the company served ads to teenagers based on their emotional states. Meta denied those claims but has taken steps in recent years to offer improved safety features for underage users on its platforms, built around new "Teen Accounts," which limit the ability of young users to be contacted and to see certain content. Meta will also be rolling out similar protections for accounts run by adults that share a great deal of content related to children, such as those who post pictures and videos of their children, and accounts for children managed by their parents. The blog post explained that while such accounts "are overwhelmingly used in benign ways, unfortunately there are people who may try to abuse them, leaving sexualized comments under their posts or asking for sexual images in DMs." For those family blogging-style accounts, Meta is extending protections including, "automatically placing these accounts into our strictest message settings to prevent unwanted messages, and turning on Hidden Words, which filters offensive comments." The changes will be rolling out in the next few months.
