Meta’s Superintelligence Labs (MSL) launch came with astounding compensation. To staff MSL, Meta recruited heavily from rival AI labs and startups, with some packages reportedly reaching nine-figure sums tied to hyper-aggressive talent acquisition. According to Axios, Mark Zuckerberg offered compensation exceeding $100 million annually, or even $300 million over four years, to recruit top AI minds, as part of a multi-billion-dollar bid to catch up in the AGI race.
But the strategy is already facing turbulence. In the weeks after MSL was announced, at least eight researchers, engineers and product leaders associated with Meta’s AI operations departed. Three high-profile researchers: Avi Verma, Ethan Knight, and Rishabh Agarwal, have left within months, with some never formally starting. Their departures, along with that of longtime AI leader Chaya Nayak, have raised eyebrows.
Departing research scientist Chi-Hao Wu cited a “dynamic” work environment as his reason for leaving. Internally, Meta has restructured its AI division four times in six months, dissolving its frontier "Behemoth" model and shifting toward product delivery and infrastructure. This has been described as a move away from breakthrough research toward feature execution.
