Meta poaches more OpenAI researchers: report

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, is reportedly hiring four additional artificial intelligence researchers from OpenAI, according to a Saturday report by The Information. The latest recruits—Shengjia Zhao, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren—will join Meta's AI division as the company expands its artificial intelligence capabilities.  

The move follows Meta's recent hiring of three other OpenAI Zurich-based researchers—Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai—as first reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier this week. These personnel changes come as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg prioritises building advanced AI systems, including his recently announced "superintelligence" initiative, suggests a report by Reuters on the matter.  

Neither Meta nor OpenAI responded to Reuters' requests for comment about the reported hires. The recruitment drive highlights the intensifying competition for top AI talent among tech giants, with Meta actively targeting researchers from leading AI organisations to bolster its own development efforts.  

The Information cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter, though Reuters could not independently verify the report. If confirmed, these hires would represent a significant expansion of Meta's AI research team as the company seeks to compete with OpenAI and other leaders in artificial intelligence development.