Three researchers have left Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs (MSL) just two months after Mark Zuckerberg announced the initiative.

Avi Verma returned to OpenAI, while Ethan Knight and Rishabh Agarwal also exited the lab. Knight came to Meta from xAI, but his next move is unknown.

Agarwal, who joined in April, has not disclosed his destination.

Chaya Nayak, Meta’s director of generative AI product management, is also leaving to join OpenAI. Meanwhile, Meta named former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao as chief scientist of MSL

The company has slowed AI hiring after an initial recruitment wave and is entering collaborations with other AI firms, including Midjourney.

🔗 Source: Wired

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Massive compensation packages don’t guarantee talent retention in competitive AI markets

Meta’s experience shows that even unprecedented financial offers may not be enough to secure top AI researchers long-term.

The company offered “nine-figure pay packages” to attract talent to its new Superintelligence Lab, yet three researchers resigned within just two months of the lab’s launch1.

Two researchers, Avi Verma and Ethan Knight, returned to OpenAI after less than a month at Meta despite these substantial financial incentives1.

This pattern suggests that factors beyond compensation, such as organizational culture, research autonomy, or project direction, play crucial roles in retaining elite AI talent.

The rapid departures occurred even as Meta’s recruiting efforts were described as aggressive, with OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman calling them “distasteful”1.

2️⃣ Organizational instability can undermine aggressive talent acquisition strategies

Meta’s internal challenges appear to be contributing to its difficulty retaining newly hired AI researchers.

The company has “repeatedly reorganized its AI teams in recent months, most recently splitting employees into four groups,” creating an environment of constant change1.

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