Mark Zuckerberg-led technology giant Meta is stepping up its game to lead the race of artificial intelligence. After acquiring a 49% stake in Scale AI and recruiting its CEO to lead its superintelligence team, the company is in advanced-level talks with two more AI technology geniuses.
These two individuals are GitHub’s former CEO Nat Friedman and co-founder of Safe Superintelligence (SSI) Daniel Gross. Both of them are also well-known AI investors.
Nat Friedman is already well-versed in Meta’s model, as he has advised the company on technology and AI issues since 2014. Outside of GitHub, Friedman is best known for financially backing cutting-edge new companies through his fund, NFDG. His product leadership and experience in leading engineering teams, as well as investing in AI companies, position him well for being a steward of Meta’s long-term AI objectives. If he comes on board, he is likely to have a wide-ranging role advising on strategy and innovation throughout the company.
Friedman’s partner at NFDG, Daniel Gross, is in discussions for a major role at Meta. Gross is co-founder at Safe Superintelligence (SSI), a startup designed to create AI systems that are both safe and capable. He has had stints at Apple and was a partner at Y Combinator, where he advised early-stage start-ups. If completed, the deal will leave Gross to exit SSI and focus on developing AI products directly at Meta.
As part of that process, Meta is working on buying a piece of their venture fund, NFDG. This would provide Meta small stakes in many high-potential AI startups supported by the fund. This investment, according to several reports, could be more than $1 billion. In this way, Meta can build influence in the larger AI ecosystem without requiring it to actually take full control of any individual startup or raise regulatory alarm.
These moves are some of Meta’s latest efforts to create a team of leading AI talent. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been investing heavily in creating what he’s dubbed a “Superintelligence Unit.” This unit is expected to be the linchpin for Meta’s AI efforts in the years ahead.
Already, the company has been providing enormous signing bonuses—as much as $100 million, reportedly—to hire top minds from rival organizations, including OpenAI. While no major leak or exodus has been confirmed, the battle for AI talent has clearly heated up.
As part of this larger strategy, Meta recently recruited 28-year-old founder of Scale AI, Alexandr Wang, after investing $14.3 billion in his company. Wang will head Meta’s Superintelligence Unit, though he is still a part of Scale AI’s board. A small team of professionals from his startup is also joining Meta along with him.
By roping in high-profile executives such as Friedman, Gross, and Wang, Meta is placing itself at the forefront of the worldwide AI race. But this is more than just a hiring spree and signals that the company plans to build the next era of intelligent systems with the best minds onboard.
