On October 25, Reliance Industries declared that Reliance Intelligence Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary, has formed a new business, Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Limited (REIL), as part of a joint venture with Facebook’s Indian division.
The unit, which will concentrate on creating, promoting, and disseminating enterprise AI services, has received an initial combined investment of about INR 855 crore from the businesses run by Mark Zuckerberg and Mukesh Ambani.
Facebook Overseas, Inc., a fully owned subsidiary of Meta Platforms Inc., will own the remaining 30% of REIL, with Reliance Intelligence holding the remaining 70%. Additionally, RIL’s AI division will contribute INR 2 crore to the inaugural 20 million equity share purchase at INR 10 per share.
REIL’s Incorporation Doesn’t Require Any Regulatory Approval
The filing states that none of the promoters, the promoter group, or the group companies of Reliance Industries have any stake in the transaction and that the incorporation of REIL does not qualify as a related party transaction. Additionally, the filing stated that the incorporation of REIL did not require any regulatory or governmental clearances.
The partnership, which was first revealed at RIL’s Annual General Meeting in August, would provide AI solutions for a variety of industries by combining Reliance’s enterprise reach with Meta’s open-source Llama models. This collaboration will concentrate on two primary products: a portfolio of pre-configured solutions for sectors including sales, marketing, IT operations, customer support, and finance, and an enterprise AI platform-as-a-service that allows businesses to design and implement generative AI models.
Reliance will make use of its digital infrastructure and access to thousands of Indian small and enterprise firms, while Meta will contribute its technological know-how in creating Llama-based models. With a focus on reducing total cost of ownership, the solutions will be deployable in cloud, on-premises, and hybrid settings.
RIL and its Operations
RIL is the biggest private sector enterprise in India. Hydrocarbon production and exploration, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, advanced materials and composites, renewables (hydrogen and solar), retail, and digital services are all included in its operations. With a 9.94% increase in operating revenue to INR 2,58,898 crore in Q2 FY26 compared to Q2 FY25, RIL’s consolidated net profit soared 9.54% to INR 18,165 crore.
Quick Shots
•Reliance
Industries announces incorporation of REIL, a joint venture with Facebook’s
Indian arm.
•The
JV has received an initial investment of INR 855 crore — Reliance holds 70%,
Meta (via Facebook Overseas Inc.) owns 30%.
•Incorporation
of REIL does not require any government or regulatory clearances and is not a
related party transaction.
•REIL
will develop, promote, and deliver enterprise AI services for sectors like
sales, marketing, IT, customer support, and finance.
•Includes
a portfolio of pre-configured AI solutions and an enterprise AI
platform-as-a-service for building generative AI models.
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.
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.
In this era, Artificial Intelligence isn’t just a tech buzzword anymore. AI has also become a crucial part of our lives. From the apps on our phones, AI has integrated into our routines almost without us noticing. In healthcare, it’s spotting diseases faster than doctors. In classrooms, it’s helping students learn in completely new ways. And yes, it’s even drafting emails or articles in seconds when we’re too tired to do it ourselves.
But here’s the thing, AI didn’t get here on its own. Behind all of these advances are real people making bold choices, taking risks, and in many cases, changing the rules as they go. Some of them are running billion-dollar companies. While others are standing up and asking tough questions about ethics and responsibility.
In this article, we will walk through the Top 10 Most Influential People in AI, the thinkers, builders, and risk-takers deciding what the future of intelligence looks like.
List of the Leading Game-Changers Behind the AI Revolution
AI may be transforming industries at lightning speed, but it’s the people behind the technology who are truly shaping its future. From CEOs of trillion-dollar companies to rising innovators making AI more accessible, these leaders are driving the breakthroughs that impact our daily lives. Here’s a look at the top 10 most influential people in AI, the visionaries steering the direction of artificial intelligence.
Name
Position
Company
Matthew Prince
Co-founder & CEO
Cloudflare
Elon Musk
Founder
xAI
Sam Altman
CEO
OpenAI
Jensen Huang
CEO
Nvidia
Fidji Simo
CEO of Applications
OpenAI
Mark Zuckerberg
Founder & CEO
Meta
Andy Jassy
President & CEO
Amazon
Allie K. Miller
CEO
Open Machine
Ravi Kumar S
CEO
Cognizant
Dario Amodei
Co-founder & CEO
Anthropic
Matthew Prince
Matthew Prince – Top Most Influential People in AI
Cloudflare’s co-founder and CEO, Matthew Prince, made headlines when he quickly moved to block AI crawler bots that were siphoning traffic away from news and media publishers. His firm stance positioned him as a strong defender of original content creators at a time when many were worried about how generative AI tools were using their work without credit. Prince’s move wasn’t just about protecting websites; it was about drawing a line on fairness in the digital age.
As of February 2025, his leadership has also translated into personal success. With an estimated net worth of US$5.5 billion, Prince is officially recognized as the richest individual in Utah, a reflection of Cloudflare’s continued dominance in internet security and infrastructure.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk – Top Most Influential People in AI
Elon Musk, the founder of xAI and co-founder of OpenAI, continues to play a defining role in the global AI conversation. He is not the part of Open AI anymore. Through his ventures, he pushes for alternatives to dominant players while also raising concerns about the risks of unchecked artificial intelligence.
His companies, along with his constant presence in public discourse, ensure that his voice carries weight in shaping the future of technology. According to Forbes, Musk’s net worth now exceeds $400 billion, cementing his position not only as one of the wealthiest people on the planet but also as one of the most impactful in steering AI’s trajectory.
Sam Altman
Sam Altman – Top Most Influential People in AI
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has been instrumental in transforming the company into one of the most influential players in the AI world. His focus on scaling infrastructure and shaping global policies has given OpenAI unmatched influence in the ecosystem. Under his leadership, OpenAI has become synonymous with innovation, regulation, and real-world impact. According to Forbes, Altman’s net worth stands at US$1.2 billion, highlighting his growing stature among the world’s top tech leaders.
Jensen Huang
Jensen Huang – Top Most Influential People in AI
As Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang transformed graphics processors into the backbone of the AI revolution. His ability to secure massive infrastructure deals and navigate geopolitics has made Nvidia indispensable to the AI boom. Huang’s leadership ensures that nearly every major AI company relies on Nvidia chips for innovation. In 2025, Forbes ranked him the 6th-richest person in the world with a net worth of US$150 billion.
She is currently serving as CEO of Applications at OpenAI. Fidji Simo focuses on making AI products scalable and commercially successful. Her earlier experience at Instacart and Meta gave her strong expertise in both product innovation and operational excellence. At OpenAI, she plays a key role in bringing AI tools into the hands of everyday users. According to Insider Trades, her net worth is estimated at US$70.75 million as of 2025.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg – Top Most Influential People in AI
As founder and CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg is embedding AI deeply into social platforms and the metaverse. His influence means billions of people interact with AI daily, often without even realizing it. Beyond consumer products, Zuckerberg is also pushing AI research into new frontiers of virtual and augmented reality. Forbes reported his net worth at US$221.2 billion in May 2025, ranking him the second-richest person in the world.
Andy Jassy
Andy Jassy – Top Most Influential People in AI
Amazon’s President and CEO, Andy Jassy, is driving the company toward becoming one of the most AI-centric businesses globally. From foundational models to robotics and logistics, AI is central to Amazon’s future under his leadership. Jassy’s vision emphasizes AI integration across both consumer services and enterprise operations. As of January 2025, his net worth was estimated at nearly US$500 million, reflecting his steady rise as a corporate leader.
Allie K. Miller
Allie K. Miller – Top Most Influential People in AI
As CEO of Open Machine, Allie K. Miller is pushing for AI tools that are practical, user-friendly, and widely accessible. Known for championing innovation, she is among the rising stars making AI adoption easier for individuals and businesses alike. Her leadership is helping shift AI from research labs to real-world use cases. Media reports estimate her net worth at around US$36 million in 2024.
Ravi Kumar S
Ravi Kumar S – Top Most Influential People in AI
As CEO of Cognizant, Ravi Kumar S is promoting the idea of the “sentient enterprise,” where AI and humans work seamlessly together. He has introduced platforms like Agent Foundry and Synapse to accelerate generative AI adoption across industries. His focus remains on democratizing AI access and making expertise more widely available. As of June 30, 2025, Kumar held 54 stocks with a net worth exceeding INR 898.9 crore.
Dario Amodei
Dario Amodei – Top Most Influential People in AI
As co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei has made safety and alignment central to AI development. His company is now one of the most important voices in the global conversation on responsible AI. Amodei is widely respected for advocating innovation that doesn’t compromise on human values or ethics. In 2025, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$3.7 billion, reflecting Anthropic’s growing influence.
Conclusion
Artificial Intelligence has rapidly moved from being a futuristic concept to an everyday reality that shapes how we work, communicate, and even think about the world around us. The ten figures we explored are not only building cutting-edge technologies but also shaping the policies, ethics, and commercial models that determine AI’s global impact.
Some, like Jensen Huang and Sam Altman, are focused on scaling the infrastructure that fuels this revolution, while others, like Dario Amodei and Matthew Prince, are setting boundaries around safety and fairness. Leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Fidji Simo, and Andy Jassy are integrating AI into platforms billions of people use daily, while rising stars like Allie K. Miller are making AI more accessible for individuals and businesses alike.
As we move deeper into 2025, one thing is clear: AI’s story is still being written, and these influential minds are holding the pen. The way they balance innovation with responsibility will decide not only the future of artificial intelligence but also the future of humanity’s relationship with technology itself.
The top 10 AI leaders include Matthew Prince, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Fidji Simo, Mark Zuckerberg, Andy Jassy, Allie K. Miller, Ravi Kumar S, and Dario Amodei.
Why is Jensen Huang considered a leader in AI technology?
Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang transformed GPUs into the backbone of AI. Almost every AI company depends on Nvidia’s hardware, making him essential to the global AI boom.
How is Mark Zuckerberg using AI at Meta?
Mark Zuckerberg is embedding AI into Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and the Metaverse. His work allows billions of people to interact with AI daily.
At its Connect event on September 17, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the company’s newest wearable technology: the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses and the matching Meta Neural Band. Meta’s first AI glasses with a full-colour, high-resolution in-lens display are the Ray-Ban Display.
Users can preview images, check messages, and respond to AI prompts without glancing down at their phones thanks to the glasses. The display, in contrast to conventional smart glasses, is made for quick, glanceable interactions and is discrete when not in use.
What is Meta’s New Neural Band?
Each pair comes with the Meta Neural Band, a wrist-worn gadget that uses minor hand gestures to control the spectacles by deciphering electrical impulses from the wearer’s muscles. In addition to allowing hands-free navigation, this electromyography (EMG) technology may eventually enable users to discreetly “write” messages using finger motions, as Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated during the presentation. The spectacles, which weigh only 69 g and are modelled after Ray-Ban’s Wayfarer design, integrate microphones, speakers, cameras, and the revolutionary display.
According to Meta, the display reaches over 42 pixels per degree, which is a leading industry standard for a device of this size. With a battery life of up to six hours for mixed use and 30 hours with the portable charging case, the glasses also come with photochromatic Transitions lenses. Additionally, they have a peak brightness of 5,000 nits.
The Neural Band is IPX7 water-resistant, comes in three sizes, and has a battery life of up to eighteen hours. Meta highlights that only command events are sent to the glasses; all raw EMG data is processed on-device.
Pricing of Meta’s New Products
The Meta Ray-Ban Display will go on sale in the US on September 30 at a few shops, including Best Buy, LensCrafters, Ray-Ban Stores, and Verizon. The price of the sunglasses and band is $799. Early 2026 is when it will be available internationally in Canada, France, Italy, and the UK.
Zuckerberg presented the launch as a component of Meta’s larger initiative to position wearables with AI as the next computing platform. He said at the launch event that today is the beginning of the next phase for wearable technology in general and AI glasses in particular.
Quick
Shots
•First Ray-Ban smart glasses with
in-lens, full-color, high-resolution display.
•Users can preview messages, images,
and AI prompts without checking phones.
•Wrist-worn device uses EMG signals to
navigate glasses with subtle hand gestures.
•42 pixels per degree display, 5,000
nits brightness, 6-hour battery, and 30-hour charging case.
•Lightweight 69 g Wayfarer-style frame
with microphones, speakers, and cameras.
•IPX7 water-resistant, up to 18-hour
battery, on-device EMG processing.
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”.
Quick
Shots
•Played a key role in building Meta’s
LLaMA and advancing generative AI.
•Started career at Meta with Data for
Good and worked on crisis response, democracy research, and transparency
initiatives.
•Led projects like Facebook Open
Research and Transparency (FORT) and disaster mapping.
•Helped build three generations of
LLaMA and Meta AI in just 2.5 years.
Shengjia Zhao, a co-creator of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, will be the chief scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs, according to a statement released by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on 25 July. The $14 billion investment in Scale AI is the centrepiece of Zuckerberg’s multibillion-dollar hiring spree in artificial intelligence in recent weeks.
Zuckerberg revealed a brand-new company in June dubbed Meta Superintelligence Labs, which is composed of leading AI developers and researchers. Although the June message included Zhao’s name among other new staffers, Zuckerberg said that Zhao co-founded the lab and “has been our lead scientist from day one.”
Shengjia Zhao’s Role and Vision at Superintelligence Lab
Zhao will collaborate closely with Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI who is serving as Meta’s chief artificial intelligence officer, and Zuckerberg. In a social media post, Zuckerberg stated, “Shengjia has already pioneered several breakthroughs, including a new scaling paradigm, and distinguished himself as a leader in the field.” “I’m excited to collaborate closely with him to further his scientific vision.”
Inside Meta’s Multibillion-Dollar AI Ambitions
According to Zuckerberg’s June memo, Zhao co-founded ChatGPT and contributed to the development of OpenAI’s GPT-4, micro models, 4.1, and O3. He also served as OpenAI’s lead for synthetic data.
Employees at Meta Superintelligence Labs will work on foundation models, including the Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research programs and the open-source Llama family of AI models and products. Earlier this month, Zuckerberg announced that the social media business would invest “hundreds of billions of dollars” in AI compute infrastructure. “The upcoming years will be extremely exciting!” On July 25, Zuckerberg wrote.
According to the Threads article, Zhao is a co-founder of the lab, which runs independently of FAIR, Meta’s well-established AI research section headed by Yann LeCun, a pioneer in deep learning. According to Zuckerberg, Meta wants to develop “full general intelligence” and make its work publicly available. The AI community has expressed both support and scepticism for this approach.
Meta vs OpenAI: A New Chapter in the AI Talent War
In addition to hiring about seven to eight researchers, including well-known figures like Xiaohua Zhai, Trapit Bansal, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Lucas Beyer, Meta has been constantly working on enhancing its Superintelligence Labs with significant financial support and leadership appointments.
A potential strategic change for OpenAI is also indicated by the recent break, as the company abandons its rapid-fire product release methodology in favour of concentrating more on long-term AGI development.
In the face of escalating competition and internal restructuring, the internal memo referred to the decision to suspend operations as a “reset”.
The competition for AI expertise is becoming a defining issue for the major players in the industry as Meta expands its own superintelligence lab and offers previously unthinkable compensation packages.
According to various media reports, OpenAI is planning a rare company-wide downtime for next week to allow workers to rest following months of demanding 80-hour workweeks.
The interim closure occurs as the ChatGPT creator struggles to hold onto top staff in the face of significant recruitment offers from Meta, totalling $100 million.
As the AI powerhouse strives to create artificial general intelligence, the ChatGPT maker has maintained what sources describe as rigorous operational schedules, with personnel putting in 80 hours a week.
This closure is an unusual step for the company. As per a renowned media house, only executives would continue to work during the break.
Mark Chen Warns Employees Against Offers From Meta
In an internal Slack post, Chief Research Officer Mark Chen cautioned colleagues that Meta will probably take advantage of the outage period to prod OpenAI researchers into making judgements quickly.
In a memo, he stated that Meta is aware that OpenAI is taking this week off and would attempt to use it to compel OpenAI staff to make snap choices. Given that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hired seven OpenAI researchers in recent weeks, including important contributors to the company’s reasoning models, the timing is crucial.
Trapit Bansal, a key contributor to OpenAI’s O1 model, Xiaohua Zhai, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Lucas Beyer have joined Meta’s superintelligence lab. The leadership of OpenAI is “recalibrating comp” and looking into “creative ways to recognise and reward top talent,” Chen said.
The company’s reaction follows CEO Sam Altman’s disclosure that Meta gave certain employees signing incentives worth over $100 million, but subsequent defectors have called these exact amounts “fake news”.
Altman argues that none of OpenAI’s top talent have chosen to accept them despite the financial strain, attributing retention to the company’s better innovation skills and mission focus. The company’s main goal will be to achieve artificial general intelligence, rather than launching new products frequently.
Intense War on AI Talent Acquisition
Indeed, this case exemplifies how the AI talent war has escalated significantly. In addition to hiring about seven to eight researchers, including well-known figures like Xiaohua Zhai, Trapit Bansal, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Lucas Beyer, Meta has established its own Superintelligence Labs with significant financial support and leadership appointments.
A potential strategic change for OpenAI is also indicated by the recent break, as the company abandons its rapid-fire product release methodology in favour of concentrating more on long-term AGI development.
In the face of escalating competition and internal restructuring, the internal memo referred to the decision to suspend operations as a “reset”.
The competition for AI expertise is becoming a defining issue for the major players in the industry as Meta expands its own superintelligence lab and offers previously unthinkable compensation packages.
Several media outlets have reported that Meta is finalising an agreement to spend $14 billion on Scale AI. Earlier this week, one media site said that an investment might exceed $10 billion, while on June 10, another media publication said that Meta will pay around $15 billion.
Various other media houses also reported that Wang, the founder of one of the most well-known AI startups, has established a reputation as an ambitious leader who not only understands the technical complexities of AI but also knows how to build a business that isn’t just focused on research.
After the lacklustre debut of Meta’s most recent Llama AI models, Zuckerberg will be looking to Wang to better carry out the company’s AI goals.
By not immediately purchasing Scale AI, Meta seems to be following in the footsteps of Google and Microsoft, which have acquired well-known AI executives from the startups Character AI and Inflection AI by investing heavily in those businesses rather than outright purchasing them.
According to several persons with knowledge of the situation, Meta does not want to aggravate authorities by purchasing Scale AI while it is on trial before the Federal Trade Commission for antitrust charges.
Scale AI Revolutionising Generative AI Segment
Since its founding in 2016, Scale AI has made a significant impact in the generative AI age by assisting well-known tech firms like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI in preparing the data they need to train state-of-the-art AI models.
A recently published media report, Meta is one of Scale AI’s largest clients. The firm is ranked number 28 on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list and was valued at $14 billion in an investment round almost a year ago.
The company acquired over 180,000 square feet of space in a downtown building that had previously been occupied by Airbnb in mid-2024, securing one of the largest recent commercial contracts in San Francisco.
Scale AI announced a multimillion-dollar agreement with the Department of Defence in March, further solidifying its growing presence in the defence sector.
In a blog post published in November, the firm announced that it had partnered with Meta on Defence Llama, a customised version of Meta’s open-source Llama foundation architecture created especially to “support American national security missions”.
Meta Facing Tough Competition in the AI Race
AI was one of Meta’s main concerns going into 2025. However, according to current and former Meta workers, Zuckerberg has become frustrated that competitors like OpenAI seem to be ahead in both underlying AI models and consumer-facing apps.
According to an earlier media report, Zuckerberg has been giving its more product-focused GenAI team greater priority than its Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research unit, or FAIR, in order to help Meta advance AI and enhance its Llama family of AI models. Zuckerberg was even more irritated when developers did not like Meta’s April release of its Llama 4 AI models.
Meta stated that it would soon develop a larger and more potent “Behemoth” variant of Llama 4, but at the moment, it only offered two smaller versions. As reported, Zuckerberg is worried about the model’s capabilities in comparison to rival models, which is why it hasn’t been released yet.
What worries people the most is how Behemoth compares to the newest models from firms like OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek, whose algorithms are favoured by the larger developer community.
Just days before its landmark antitrust trial began, Meta tried to settle the case by making a USD 450 million offer, a move that was led personally by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Reports say that Zuckerberg contacted Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson in late March with the offer. However, the FTC wanted something closer to a figure that was reportedly in the neighborhood of 30 billion USD, plus a consent decree, and deemed Meta’s offer too low. Ferguson was unpersuaded and let the case go to trial.
The FTC’s case contests the purchases by Meta of Instagram and WhatsApp. It accuses Meta of trying to eliminate competition and secure an iron grip on social media.
Trial Threatens Breakup of Instagram and WhatsApp
The trial, which commenced on April 14, has the potential to result in a ruling that would require Meta to reverse its well-known acquisitions. The FTC maintains that the purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp were not about innovation, but about stifling competition and increasing dominance in the marketplace. The emails presented during the trial have certainly raised eyebrows, and for good reason. One email in particular, sent in 2008 by none other than Mark Zuckerberg, has the look of a smoking gun.
An internal memo from 2018, which was made public during the trial, shows that Zuckerberg had thought about spinning off Instagram. This was at a time when antitrust concerns were increasing. It’s worth noting that this memo does not describe any step that actually was taken. What we have is a document that highlights the company’s awareness of pressure from regulators that was becoming more intense.
Meta’s Defense: Competitive Market and Consumer Gains
Meta has pushed back on the FTC’s accusations, asserting that it vies for consumers in a fast-moving competitive landscape alongside platforms like TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, and X. Advocates for the firm maintain that both end users and the overall tech ecosystem have reaped benefits from the purchases in question, and they argue that the case against them is based on a stale, overly reductive take on the marketplace.
Meta criticized the accusation and emphasized that even the youngest users would know that Instagram and TikTok obviously compete. A Meta spokesperson said that his trial sets a bad precedent. The FTC says companies like Meta should not be able to grow through acquisitions. If they do, they should be broken up even when their services are not obviously competing.
Zuckerberg’s Political Lobbying Yields No Results
In the weeks just prior to the trial, Zuckerberg worked to secure political support, even lobbying President Donald Trump and his aides in an effort to directly influence the outcome of the trial. He held several high-level meetings at the White House, but in the end, they did not have much impact. Trump was not moved to intervene, and that absence of a White House intervention was a win for the FTC.
Zuckerberg’s larger initiative to repair the relationship with Trump, through monetary donations and changes in policy, seems to have not worked. The trial is now a focal point in Washington’s Big Tech pushback, another round in the ongoing argument about how much regulation the tech sector is going to have to live by.
