Chaya Nayak: Indian-Origin AI Expert Behind Llama Joins OpenAI After 9 Years at Meta

One of Meta’s most seasoned AI leaders has left the company amid the poaching war, as Chaya Nayak, an executive of Indian descent who worked there for almost ten years, announced she was going to join OpenAI.

Career at Meta — Data for Good & LLaMA

Her departure from Mark Zuckerberg’s AI division is the most recent in a series of high-profile departures. “I remember my first weeks at Facebook like they were yesterday,” Nayak wrote in a contemplative LinkedIn post announcing her retirement.

She joined to support the launch of Data for Good, an initiative to demonstrate the potential benefits of data and AI/ML for the global community. Her career was built upon what began as a daring endeavour.

Operations Handled by Nayak at Meta

Nayak spent her ten years there working on initiatives that used AI and data to solve practical problems. She led the Facebook Open Research and Transparency (FORT) project, which created resources for scholars to carefully examine Meta’s impact, after playing a significant part in Data for Good. She also helped communities in crises by creating disaster maps, and she actively participated in studies on Meta’s impact on democracy, including those conducted during the US elections in 2020.

What Her Move Means for the AI Industry?

Nayak turned her attention to generative AI in more recent years, helping to create three generations of Llama and Meta AI. “I worked on GenAI for the last 2.5 years, creating three generations of Llama and Meta AI, solving challenging problems at breakneck speed, and speculating about the potential social implications of the next wave of AI,” she stated.

She went on to reflect on her development, saying, “I developed as a leader along the road. I gained self-assurance, the courage to pursue ambitious concepts, and the ability to bounce back when things didn’t work out. Above all, I established a network of friends and coworkers who helped to mould and encourage me along the journey.”

Nayak’s Future Role

Nayak will now collaborate on Special Initiatives with Irina Kofman at OpenAI. “Today, I’m joining OpenAI to work with Irina Kofman on Special Initiatives – exploring new opportunities at the frontier of AI,” she tweeted, outlining her next step. “Using all I’ve learnt to work on projects that will help shape the future of technology and society seems like the ideal next step. The journey isn’t over,” she wrote as a hopeful closing to her post.

Other Meta AI Experts Who Recently Quit

In recent months, a number of AI specialists have left Meta, including Nayak. According to Wired, at least three workers from Meta’s Superintelligence Labs (MSL) abruptly quit. Ethan Knight, Avi Verma, and Rishabh Agarwal left; Verma and Knight are now going to OpenAI.

Given her seven-figure compensation, Agarwal’s resignation caused some controversy. Leaving Meta was a “tough decision”, he said in a social media post, but he “felt the pull to take on a different kind of risk”.