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Tag: #Meta

  • Indian-Origin Startup Offers Jobs to Laid-Off Meta Employees, Salaries Up to INR 5.2 Crore

    Tech giants and startups are filling the void left by Meta’s announcement that it will lay off 600 workers from its AI business. Among them is Sudarshan Kamath, an Indian entrepreneur and the creator of Smallest AI. The US-based businessman said on X that his organisation will appoint former Meta staff members to its San Francisco-based speaking team.

    He stated in the post that Meta had laid him off. “We are hiring in speech team for Smallest AI in San Francisco!” According to Kamath, the positions offer flexible equity options in addition to basic salaries that range from $200,000 (INR 1.75 crore) to $600,000 (INR 5.26 crore) annually. Selected personnel are likely to make more than half a million dollars annually with such appealing base salary, bringing the remuneration comparable to that of larger software organisations.

    Eligibility

    Candidates must fulfil certain requirements. In his posting, Kamath described the requirements, saying that he was seeking experience in speech evaluations, speech generation, full duplex speech-to-speech, etc. It must be both intelligent and hungry. “DM me.” In an effort to increase the agility of its AI section, Meta is laying off over 600 employees from its Superintelligence Labs. According to news agency Reuters, the layoffs impact teams in Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR), product-focused AI units, and AI infrastructure organisations.

    There will be no impact on the recently established TBD Lab, which employs a few dozen engineers and researchers developing next-generation foundation models. According to Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, the change will increase the accountability and influence of each remaining function while streamlining decision-making. Additionally, the organisation is urging impacted workers to look for other roles within Meta.

    Meta’s Mega AI Mission

    To support its largest data centre project to date, Meta recently secured a $27 billion financing transaction with Blue Owl Capital, its largest private capital agreement to date. According to analysts, the agreement transfers a large portion of the risk and expense to outside investors while enabling Meta to pursue its AI objectives.

    Following the departure of top workers and a lacklustre reception to its open-source Llama 4 model, Meta restructured its AI operations under Superintelligence Labs in June. To bolster the sector, CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally spearheaded a significant hiring drive.

    With an emphasis on creating the company’s next-generation AI models, Superintelligence Labs currently houses Meta’s Foundations, Product, FAIR, and TBD teams. By creating the FAIR unit and hiring Yann LeCun as its top AI scientist, Meta made its initial investments in AI in 2013 and established a global deep learning research network.

    Quick Shots

    •Smallest
    AI, founded by Sudarshan Kamath, offers roles to laid-off Meta AI staff.

    •Salaries
    range from $200,000 to $600,000 (INR 1.75–INR 5.26 crore) with flexible
    equity options.

    •Positions
    open for experts in speech evaluation, speech generation, and full-duplex
    speech-to-speech AI.

    •Over 600 employees cut from Meta’s
    Superintelligence Labs, including FAIR and AI infrastructure teams.

  • Meta Lays Off 600 Employees from its AI Unit as Wang Strengthens Leadership

    A spokeswoman confirmed to CNBC on 22 October that Meta will lay off some 600 workers in its artificial intelligence division as part of its efforts to streamline operations and cut layers. Alexandr Wang, the company’s chief AI officer, who was brought on board in June as part of Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, wrote a memo outlining the cuts.

    Employees at the Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research unit (FAIR), Meta’s AI infrastructure units, and other roles involving products will be affected. According to those familiar with the situation, TBD Labs staff members, including many of the top-tier AI hires recruited into the social network company last summer, were unaffected by the layoffs, CNBC said.

    According to the people, those workers under Wang’s supervision were exempt from the layoffs, highlighting Mark Zuckerberg’s wager on his pricey hires rather than the company’s long-standing staff.

    Why Meta is Opting for Layoffs?

    According to CNBC’s report, teams like FAIR and more product-focused units frequently competed for computing resources, making Meta’s AI section appear fat. They claimed that the company’s enormous Meta AI unit was passed down to the new hires as they joined to establish Superintelligence Labs. The layoffs are part of Meta’s ongoing effort to reduce the department and strengthen Wang’s position as the company’s AI leader.

    In an effort to stay ahead of competitors like OpenAI and Google, Meta has been drastically changing its approach to AI in recent months. The company has been investing billions of dollars in hiring and infrastructure projects. According to the persons, Meta’s Superintelligence Labs now employs just under 3,000 people after the layoffs. On 22 October, Meta informed at least a few workers that they would be terminated on November 21 and that they would be placed in a “non-working notice period” until then.

    The note, which CNBC saw, stated, “Your internal access will be removed during this time, and you do not need to do any additional work for Meta.” “You can look for another position at Meta during this time.” Additionally, the corporation stated that it will give 16 weeks of severance pay plus an additional two weeks for each year of service that has been completed, “minus your notice period.” CEO Mark Zuckerberg had become dissatisfied with Meta’s AI advancements, particularly after developers responded ambivalently to the company’s April release of its Llama 4 models.

    Meta Cutting Down on its Expanses

    Meta raised the low end of its prior estimate during its July second-quarter results call, stating that it anticipates its total expenses for 2025 to fall between $114 billion and $118 billion. Since Meta said that its AI activities will lead to a 2026 year-over-year expense growth rate that is higher than the 2025 expense growth, that number is only anticipated to rise. 

    Zuckerberg announced a new division dubbed Meta Superintelligence Labs, which is composed of leading AI researchers and engineers, after Meta made a significant investment in Scale AI. Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman are in charge of the organisation. Meta and Blue Owl Capital announced a $27 billion agreement on October 21 to finance and build the gigantic Hyperion data centre in rural Louisiana. In a July post, Zuckerberg stated that the data centre would likely be big enough to occupy a “significant part of the footprint of Manhattan”.

    Quick Shots

    •Meta
    to cut 600 employees from its AI division to streamline operations and reduce
    redundancies.

    •Alexandr
    Wang, Meta’s Chief AI Officer, strengthens leadership as layoffs exempt his
    direct teams.

    •Cuts
    impact FAIR, AI infrastructure teams, and product-focused roles; TBD Labs
    staff largely unaffected.

    •Meta’s
    Superintelligence Labs now employs just under 3,000 people after layoffs.

  • Apple Exec Jumps Ship to Meta Amid Intensifying AI Talent War

    According to Bloomberg News on 15 October, which cited sources with knowledge of the situation, Apple’s Ke Yang, the recently hired CEO spearheading an initiative to create an AI-driven online search similar to ChatGPT, is leaving to join Meta. According to the story, Yang was only a few weeks ago named leader of the Answers, Knowledge and Information, or AKI, team, which is at the heart of the March redesign of the Siri voice assistant. Yang’s LinkedIn page states that he has been employed with Apple since 2019.

    Meta Continues it Poaching Spree                     

    By aggressively hiring to compete with competitors like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, Meta has escalated the talent battle in Silicon Valley as tech companies heavily invest in AI in the race to superintelligence. Bloomberg News previously claimed that Robby Walker and Ruoming Pang were among the top AI executives that the Mark Zuckerberg-led business had previously snatched from the iPhone manufacturer.

    Apple pivots from Vision Air to next-gen smart glasses to take on Meta

    After dominating the high-end smartphone market, Apple is now attempting to compete with Meta and offer something different. Apple analyst Mark Gurman claims that the corporation is prepared to abandon all of its plans for the Apple Vision Air and instead focus on introducing smart glasses for consumers.

    With their AR/VR capabilities, these glasses will function as a more portable gadget that stands out from the competition. According to early speculations, Apple will release two versions of the device simultaneously: one with and one without a display. Let’s take a quick look at everything that is currently available regarding Apple’s impending smart glasses.

    Apple Smart Glasses to have Two Variants

    There will be two versions of the Apple Smart Glass: one with and one without a display. For seamless operation, the iPhone will be linked with the no-display one. There are rumours that the gadget will come with voice, camera, microphone, and artificial intelligence capabilities.

    With this one, it’s likely that we’ll get to experience Siri on steroids. In addition, the gadget will have health monitoring capabilities, allowing end users to have a highly personalised experience. At debut, the glasses will come in a variety of colours and styles.

    Quick
    Shots

    •Apple exec Ke Yang leaves to join
    Meta, intensifying the AI talent war in Silicon Valley.

    •Yang was recently appointed CEO of
    Apple’s AKI team, leading AI-driven search and Siri redesign.

    •Meta continues aggressive poaching of
    top AI talent from Apple, competing with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

    •Apple abandons Vision Air project,
    shifting focus to next-gen smart glasses to rival Meta.

    •Smart glasses expected in two
    versions: one with a display and one without.

    •No-display variant will pair with
    iPhone and offer voice, camera, AI, and health monitoring features.

    •AR/VR capabilities aim to create a
    portable, personalized user experience.

  • Apple Shelves Vision Air Project, Shifts Focus to Next-Gen Smart Glasses to Rival Meta

    After dominating the high-end smartphone market, Apple is now attempting to compete with Meta and offer something different. Apple analyst Mark Gurman claims that the corporation is prepared to abandon all of its plans for the Apple Vision Air and instead focus on introducing smart glasses for consumers.

    With their AR/VR capabilities, these glasses will function as a more portable gadget that stands out from the competition. According to early speculations, Apple will release two versions of the device simultaneously: one with and one without a display. Let’s take a quick look at everything that is currently available regarding Apple’s impending smart glasses.

    Apple Smart Glasses to have Two Variants

    There will be two versions of the Apple Smart Glass: one with and one without a display. For seamless operation, the iPhone will be linked with the no-display one. There are rumours that the gadget will come with voice, camera, microphone, and artificial intelligence capabilities.

    With this one, it’s likely that we’ll get to experience Siri on steroids. In addition, the gadget will have health monitoring capabilities, allowing end users to have a highly personalised experience. At debut, the glasses will come in a variety of colours and styles.

    Other Loaded Features of Apple Smart Glasses

    Due to its separate display, the Apple Smart Glasses with a display will provide a superior experience. This one will most likely show us an in-frame or in-lens display that can provide augmented visuals, notifications, and other essential information. In addition, leaks indicate that when the gadget is linked to a Mac, it will support full visionOS and have numerous switch modes.

    Regarding the release schedule, it is anticipated that Apple’s no-display smart glasses will be available in the second half of 2026. In contrast, Apple’s display-integrated smart glasses might be ready by 2027. There is currently little information available on the two. Before an official announcement is made, we may anticipate learning more about the devices in the near future through leaks and rumours.

    Whether Apple can ultimately grasp AI-driven features is the most important question. It is forced to take on that challenge because there is so much at stake. Apple may ultimately opt to produce the Vision Air. However, for the time being, Apple’s choice to concentrate on smart glasses makes sense. The success of Meta’s smart glasses is not the only reason it has helped pave the way. Additionally, Meta has struggled to offer mixed reality headsets at a significantly cheaper cost than Apple’s Vision Pro.

    Quick Shots

    •Apple has reportedly shelved its Vision Air project
    to focus on developing new Smart Glasses.

    •The Smart Glasses will come in two variants — one
    with a display and one without a display.

    •The no-display version will link with the iPhone
    and feature voice, camera, AI, and Siri integration.

    •The display model may support visionOS, augmented
    visuals, and Mac connectivity.

  • Translate Chats in Seconds: Meta Introduces New Whatsapp Feature…

    Going back and forth from WhatsApp to Google Translate when someone sends a message in a different language? Not any more. On Tuesday (September 23, 2025), WhatsApp released a new language translator update inside the app itself. According to Thunderbit, about 2.3 billion (daily active users) worldwide use WhatsApp. For personal and work purposes, messages are shared in different languages. So, the work of copy-pasting after this feature is now zero. Well, many wonder how many languages are available and how efficient the new feature is. Can it also work on group chats and forums? And how can one enable it? For all that, learn more.

    Official annoucement of "Message Translations" on WhatsApp
    Official annoucement of “Message Translations” on WhatsApp

    What Is This New Translator Feature?

    The new translator feature on WhatsApp allows you to translate messages in real-time directly within the app. The translation is done without leaving the app and takes seconds.

    It works in:

    • Personal chats
    • Groups chats
    • Channel updates

    Especially for Android users, there’s an option to make translations done automatically. So, instead of manually doing it for every message. 

    How to Use It (Step by Step)

    Update WhatsApp

    • First things first, open the Google Play Store (for Android) or the App Store (for iPhone).
    • Install or update WhatsApp to see the new feature (because the feature is only available on the updated version).

    Find a Message in Another Language

    • Open a message (from a chat, group, or channel) that is in a different language.
    • Long-press the message, so the options menu pops up.

    Tap “Translate”

    • Then select the “Translate” option from the menu.
    • WhatsApp will quickly show you the translated version of the message selected.

    Choose Your Language

    • Or if you like the selected message to be translated to a different language, you can do that too.
    • For that, WhatsApp can ask you to download a language pack, and you’ll have to do that. Now, if you think it is an extra step, note that the pack helps you translate work faster even when you are offline.

    Enable Automatic Translation (Android Only)

    • Once you translate a message you like, you’ll also see an option: “Automatic translation for this chat.”
    • Keep this option turned on, so that every message you receive in that chat will be automatically translated. 

    Repeat as Needed

    • In case you don’t want to turn “Automatic translation for this chat” on, you can long-press and translate each new message manually.

    Where Is This Available?

    WhatsApp has this feature rolling out to all users, so the availability is for everyone.

    The feature is already live in these countries:

    • India
    • U.S.
    • U.K.
    • Canada
    • Australia
    • Brazil
    • France
    • Germany
    • Spain
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Singapore

    What Languages Does It Support?

    The feature is multilingual, so it supports a big list of languages, including:

    • Indian languages: Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia.
    • Major world languages: English (different regions), Spanish (Latin America, Spain, U.S.), Portuguese (Brazil & Portugal), Arabic, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese, and many more (about 50+).

    Privacy Note

    • Many fear privacy every time a new feature is out. For this feature in particular, Translations happen on the app itself.
    • So, the end-to-end encryption will secure your data, meaning WhatsApp or Meta cannot see the messages you are translating.

    Extra Details

    • On the launch date (September 23, 2025), the feature was available:
    • Android supports translations in 6 languages to start with.
    • The iPhone supports 19 languages.
    • More languages are being added gradually.

  • Meta’s Llama AI Gets Green Signal From GSA for U.S. Government Use

    Meta’s Llama (AI system) has been approved by the U.S. government on September 22. Federal agencies will now use Llama on a day-to-day basis. It joins the list alongside Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. One might think, how will these AI systems assist federal agencies? Is it safe in terms of data and security, considering Meta is often in the news for the same? Here’s everything you need to know: the approval, examples of use, and data security. Learn more. 

    Offical annoucement by General Services Administration (GSA), U.S.

    Who Approved Meta’s Llama?

    The General Services Administration (GSA) is the U.S. government’s ‘shopping department’ that handles all the buying of tools and services for federal agencies.

    And the head of GSA, Josh Gruenbaum, has announced the confirmation on September 22, 2025.

    What Does This Mean?

    • This means that any U.S. government agency can now use Llama safely.
    • The federal agencies can “test and experiment” with Llama now that GSA has confirmed that it meets the government’s security and legal rules.
    • Llama is a free tool, so the agencies can get their hands on the tool easily.

    What Exactly Is Llama?

    Llama is a large language model (LLM) powered by Meta. It understands and generates text, audio, images, and even video. It performs multiple tasks, such as analyzing data, answering questions, summarizing information, and more.

    Are Other AI Tools Approved, Too?

    Throughout the years, GSA has approved several tech companies, like:

    • Amazon Web Services (AWS) was approved in October 2013.
    • Microsoft was approved in November 2014.
    • Google was approved in December 2010.
    • Anthropic was approved on August 5, 2025.
    • OpenAI was approved in August 2025.

    These companies sell their services to the government at lower prices and follow several strict policies in terms of data security.

    Bigger Picture of AI in Federal Agencies

    The Trump administration wants to utilize the commercial AI tools inside the government for these reasons:

    • They firmly believe that it will modernize government operations, making them faster and more efficient.

    For example, Llama could help:

    Information Technology (IT) Support

    • Llama can help quickly troubleshoot IT problems across government networks.
    • It detects error patterns in the systems and prevents bigger issues.

    Contract Review

    • Human reviews can take a lot of time (say weeks and months), so Llama can speed up approvals.
    • Llama can outline the errors, missing clauses, and risky terms or non-compliance issues.

    Document Summarization

    • The tool can summarize long reports, memos, or legislation so that anyone can understand the subject matter.
    • It simplifies the complex legal or technical language into plain English.
    • Can translate documents from different languages to English. 

    Data Analysis

    • It takes seconds to understand and analyze large datasets like census data, budget spreadsheets, or traffic patterns.

    Public Communication

    • Llama is quick to draft hundreds of emails and press releases.
    • It can answer any questions and queries from the public. 

    Did the Discounts Mean Tech Companies Want Trump’s Favor?

    Many think that tech giants are providing big discounts to please Trump, and when asked about the same, Gruenbaum from GSA said:

    • No, it’s not about politics, but both government + tech companies working together to make the U.S. stronger.