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International Business Times
26-07-2025
- Business
- International Business Times
Who Is Shengjia Zhao? META Appoints ChatGPT co-creator as Head of Superintelligence AI Team
Meta is making a big push into advanced artificial intelligence with its Super Intelligence Lab. Now the Mark Zuckerberg-led tech giant has appointed Shengjia Zhao to head up its Superintelligence AI team. Zhao, one of the developers that helped create ChatGPT at OpenAI, will now be its chief scientist for the latest AI division of Meta. X Zhao joined Meta in June 2025. On Friday (July 25), Meta announced that Zhao will officially serve as its Chief Scientist. The announcement was made on Threads by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who referred to Zhao as the team's 'lead scientist from day one.' At OpenAI, Zhao was involved with some of the company's most significant early efforts. He was a co-author of the first ChatGPT paper and helped to produce the initial reasoning model, titled "o1." It's the model that effectively ushered in the concept of "chain-of-thought" AI, in which the AI works its way through problems step by step, an idea they've gone on to license and which has been adopted by many other companies, including Google. At Meta, Zhao will answer to Alexandr Wang, Meta's new Chief AI Officer. Wang had joined Meta in June, after leading Scale AI. He now leads Meta's quest to create synthetic general intelligence (AGI), or AI, that can think and reason like humans. Meta's Superintelligence Lab, which was launched in June 2025, is distinct from Meta's older AI research group FAIR (Facebook AI Research). FAIR will retain its work under AI pioneer Yann LeCun, who now reports to Wang. The hiring of Zhao is an indication of Meta's aggressive talent acquisition approach. In recent months, Meta has hired more than a dozen AI researchers from top companies, including Apple, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The list features industry veterans such as two of Apple's most famous scientists, Tom Gunter and Mark Lee. Some reports have said Meta is making huge pay packages to attract talent, including, in one case, up to $300 million. Meta has disputed those numbers but says it is also pouring significant resources into top AI talent. Presently, Meta's top open-source AI model, LLaMA 4, is still behind rivals such as GPT-4 and Gemini. But the company is due to put out a beefier model, codenamed Behemoth, later this year. Zuckerberg said, "We are piloting a team that can build learnings with the tools and pass on the baton to the future of superintelligence AI."
India Today
26-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
Meta picks ex-OpenAI researcher over Yann LeCun as chief scientist of AI superintelligence unit
Meta has been stealing away talent from its biggest rivals as it gears up to become a serious contender in the AI race. And now, after putting together a team, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Shengjia Zhao, a former OpenAI researcher and one of the co-authors of the original ChatGPT paper, just been named Chief Scientist of Meta's newly minted Superintelligence AI who quietly joined Meta in June, was instrumental in OpenAI's early successes, from building the first reasoning model, o1, to helping shape ChatGPT itself. That o1 model, incidentally, is the very one that sparked the 'chain-of-thought' craze, later picked up by the likes of Google and CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed Zhao's promotion in a post on Threads, calling him 'our lead scientist from day one.' He went on to explain, 'Now that our recruiting is going well, and our team is coming together, we have decided to formalise his leadership role.' Zhao will now work directly under Alexandr Wang, the former Scale AI CEO who joined Meta in June as its Chief AI Officer. Wang has been tasked with nothing less than steering Meta towards artificial general intelligence (AGI), systems capable of reasoning and thinking at human or even superhuman Superintelligence Lab, which Meta unveiled in June 2025, is the centrepiece of this new ambition. It operates separately from FAIR, Meta's long-established AI research unit, which remains under the leadership of AI veteran Yann LeCun. LeCun now reports to Wang, giving the latter clear oversight of Meta's two-pronged AI research AI hiring binge has been making headlines all summer. In just a couple of months, the company has lured away more than a dozen leading researchers from OpenAI, Apple, Google and Anthropic. That includes high-profile names such as Apple AI scientists Tom Gunter and Mark high-stakes AI talent hunt didn't stop with Shengjia Zhao. As The Information first reported in June, Zhao joined alongside three other influential OpenAI researchers: Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren. The tech giant has also brought in Trapit Bansal, who previously collaborated with Zhao on AI reasoning models, and recruited a trio of engineers from OpenAI's Zurich office, each with expertise in make it happen, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has personally taken the reins of recruitment, reportedly reaching out to candidates via email and even hosting potential hires at his private Lake Tahoe retreat. Not your average job interview venue. According to the reports, some offers have been eye-wateringly generous, with compensation packages reaching eight and nine figures. And Meta isn't playing around, many of these are 'exploding offers,' designed to pressure top researchers into signing within just a few present, Meta's most advanced open-source model, LLaMA 4, is still lagging behind rivals like OpenAI's GPT4 and Google's Gemini. But the company is betting big on a new model, codenamed 'Behemoth,' which is expected to debut later this year. Zuckerberg sounded bullish about what's coming next. 'Together we are building an elite, talent-dense team that has the resources and long-term focus to push the frontiers of superintelligence research,' he Zhao now in the driver's seat and a growing team of AI heavyweights, Meta clearly wants to make sure that the next big breakthrough in AI has its logo stamped all over it.- EndsMust Watch
Hans India
26-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Meta Taps Ex-OpenAI Scientist Shengjia Zhao to Lead Its Superintelligence AI Lab
In a bold move that signals Meta's intensified push into advanced artificial intelligence, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced the appointment of Shengjia Zhao—an ex-OpenAI researcher and co-author of the original ChatGPT paper—as Chief Scientist of Meta's Superintelligence AI group. Zhao, who quietly joined the tech giant in June, played a pivotal role in shaping OpenAI's early breakthroughs, including the development of its first reasoning model known as o1. That model was instrumental in triggering the now widespread 'chain-of-thought' trend, later adopted by other AI powerhouses such as Google and DeepSeek. Confirming Zhao's new leadership role, Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Threads: 'Our lead scientist from day one. Now that our recruiting is going well, and our team is coming together, we have decided to formalise his leadership role.' Zhao will now report directly to Alexandr Wang, the former Scale AI CEO, who was appointed Meta's Chief AI Officer in June. Wang oversees Meta's high-stakes pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI)—intelligent systems capable of reasoning and problem-solving at or above human levels. This appointment places Zhao at the helm of Meta's recently launched Superintelligence Lab, a standalone division separate from the long-established FAIR (Fundamental AI Research) unit led by AI veteran Yann LeCun. While LeCun continues to lead FAIR, he now reports to Wang, giving the new Chief AI Officer unified control over Meta's dual-track AI research strategy. Meta's aggressive AI talent acquisition has been in full swing this summer. In a matter of weeks, the company has hired over a dozen researchers from rivals like OpenAI, Google, Apple, and Anthropic. Along with Zhao, several high-profile AI minds—including Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren—have transitioned from OpenAI to Meta. Other significant additions include Trapit Bansal, Zhao's past collaborator, and three multimodality experts from OpenAI's Zurich office. According to reports, Zuckerberg himself has led the recruitment campaign, personally contacting candidates via email and even hosting them at his Lake Tahoe retreat. The stakes are high—many of the offers are said to include hefty eight- and nine-figure compensation packages, often with 'exploding' clauses that push for rapid acceptance. Despite the buzz, Meta's current flagship AI model, LLaMA 4, still trails behind OpenAI's GPT-4 and Google's Gemini in terms of performance. However, all eyes are now on 'Behemoth,' Meta's code-named next-gen model expected to launch later this year. Zuckerberg remains confident about the road ahead. 'Together we are building an elite, talent-dense team that has the resources and long-term focus to push the frontiers of superintelligence research,' he stated. With Zhao now officially at the helm and a wave of top-tier AI talent joining the ranks, Meta is clearly positioning itself as a serious contender in the race for the next big breakthrough in artificial intelligence.
Economic Times
25-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Meta names former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao as Chief scientist for superintelligence lab
Meta taps former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao as Chief Scientist of its new Superintelligence AI Lab, signaling a bold move in the AGI race. Meta Platforms has appointed Shengjia Zhao, a former OpenAI researcher and co-author of the original ChatGPT paper, as the Chief Scientist of its new Superintelligence AI group, the company confirmed Friday (July 25). Zhao, who joined Meta in June, was a key contributor to OpenAI's early breakthroughs, including the development of ChatGPT and the company's first reasoning model, known as o1. The model helped set off a new wave of 'chain-of-thought' AI systems adopted by companies such as Google and DeepSeek. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Zhao's formal appointment in a post on Threads, calling him 'our lead scientist from day one.' Zuckerberg added: 'Now that our recruiting is going well and our team is coming together, we have decided to formalize his leadership role.' Zhao will report to Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI, who joined Meta in June as Chief AI Officer. Wang is leading Meta's efforts in building artificial general intelligence (AGI), AI that can think and reason at or beyond human capability. The move comes amid Meta's aggressive recruitment campaign in the AI sector. Over the past two months, the company has hired more than a dozen researchers from OpenAI, Apple, Google, and Anthropic. That includes two top Apple AI scientists, Tom Gunter and Mark Lee, according to Bloomberg. Meta launched the Superintelligence Lab in June 2025 as part of its renewed focus on developing advanced AI models. The lab is separate from Meta's long-standing AI research group FAIR, which will continue to be led by Yann LeCun, who now reports to Wang. Meta's recent hires have drawn attention for the size of the compensation packages involved. Some reports suggested offers exceeding $100 million, although the company has denied rumors of higher figures, including claims of $300 million current open-source model, LLaMA 4, has not yet matched the capabilities of OpenAI's GPT-4 or Google's Gemini models. The company is expected to release a more advanced model, internally codenamed 'Behemoth,' later this expressed optimism about the lab's future, saying, 'Together we are building an elite, talent-dense team that has the resources and long-term focus to push the frontiers of superintelligence research.'
Mint
13-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
After ScaleAI, Meta acquires voice AI startup PlayAI to boost its AI ambitions
Meta, the owner of social media giants like WhatsApp and Instagram, has completed the deal to acquire PlayAI, an artificial intelligence startup focused on voice technology, according to a report by Bloomberg. As per an internal memo viewed by the agency, the 'entire PlayAI' team will join Meta next week. The PlayAI team will report to Johan Schalkwyk, who recently joined the tech giant from a separate voice AI startup called Sesame AI. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the acquisition to Bloomberg but did not disclose the sum paid by the company to buy PlayAI. As per the memo, the PlayAI team's 'work in creating natural voices, along with a platform for easy voice creation, is a great match for our work and roadmap across AI Characters, Meta AI, Wearables, and audio content creation.' Notably, Meta has made AI its biggest priority this year, from investing in infrastructure like chips and data centres to recruiting new talent to build its latest AI models and features. The eye-opening moment for the company came with the launch of its LLaMA 4 models earlier this year, which failed to get much recognition and paled in comparison to competition from the likes of Google and OpenAI. Since then, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced a new AI division called Meta Superintelligence Labs, aimed at achieving 'superintelligence' in AI systems before any other company. The division is led by Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of AI startup Scale AI, which Meta recently acquired for $14.3 billion. Apart from Wang, Meta has been poaching top AI talent from the likes of OpenAI and Google, offering up to $100 million in bonuses to new employees. Among the major talent poached by the company are the makers of the GPT-4 and GPT-4o models.
