Meta’s aggressive AI expansion hits a new stride
Meta has reportedly intensified its pursuit of cutting-edge artificial intelligence by successfully luring away several top researchers from AI powerhouses OpenAI and Google DeepMind. According to industry sources, this talent grab is part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s broader mission to position Meta as a global leader in general-purpose AI systems, including large language models and multimodal AI.

High-profile names make the leap
Among the most notable hires is top researcher Guilherme Penedo, a former DeepMind scientist behind its Gemini project, which rivals OpenAI’s GPT. Other major hires include Noam Brown, known for his AI breakthroughs in strategic reasoning, and Alexandre Sablayrolles, formerly of Meta and a key contributor to efficient transformer models. Their move signals a growing talent war as tech giants compete to dominate AI innovation.

Meta aims to lead in open-source AI and AGI
Zuckerberg has publicly committed to building open-source, scalable AI systems capable of general intelligence. Meta’s Llama 3 model, released earlier in 2025, has already demonstrated high performance, and a more advanced Llama 4 is reportedly in development. The new hires are expected to accelerate research on future iterations, as well as Meta's ambitious goal to integrate AI across its platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Quest.

OpenAI and DeepMind remain tight-lipped
Neither OpenAI nor DeepMind have issued official statements on the departures, though internal sources suggest growing concern over the competitive pressure and retention of key staff. Both firms have faced internal restructuring and external scrutiny, especially OpenAI after its governance controversies in late 2023.

Meta’s AI ambitions broaden with infrastructure and hiring
In addition to talent acquisition, Meta has ramped up AI investments, including building one of the world’s largest AI training clusters with Nvidia H100 GPUs and launching new AI labs in London and Toronto. The company is also collaborating with universities and startups to broaden its AI influence and innovation pipeline.

The race toward Artificial General Intelligence intensifies
This wave of hires marks a defining moment in the global AI race, particularly in the development of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). As Meta brings in top minds from its fiercest rivals, it’s clear the company is betting big on long-term AI dominance. For Zuckerberg, AI is no longer a side project—it’s the future core of Meta’s technological empire.