Meta is facing a wave of employee exits from its recently launched Superintelligence Labs, just months after aggressively hiring top talent from across the AI industry. According to a Business Insider report, at least eight employees have left in recent weeks, raising questions about the stability of Meta’s ambitious AI plans.
Key Departures
Those leaving include both long-time veterans and recent hires. Among the most notable is Bert Maher, who worked at Meta for 12 years and helped build PyTorch, the widely used open-source AI framework. Maher has now joined Anthropic’s inference team.
Another veteran, Tony Liu, who spent eight years working on Facebook, Instagram, and PyTorch, also announced his exit. Chi-Hao Wu, a machine learning specialist who worked at Meta for five years, cited “constant reorganisations” as a reason for instability. Research scientist Aram Markosyan, with four years at Meta, has also moved on.
Two longtime employees, Chaya Nayak (9 years) and Afroz Mohiuddin (14 years), have joined OpenAI. Meanwhile, recent hires Avi Verma and Ethan Knight left within weeks to rejoin OpenAI. Rishabh Agarwal, who joined only five months ago, also quit, reportedly heading to Periodic Labs.
What’s Behind the Exodus?
The exits come shortly after Meta reportedly put a freeze on AI hiring despite months of aggressive recruitment, where the company offered six-to-eight-figure packages to lure top researchers and engineers. For many employees, the frequent reshuffles and uncertainty inside the AI division appear to have created unease.
Meta’s Response
A Meta spokesperson downplayed the departures, stating: “Some attrition is normal for any organisation of this size. Most of these employees had been with the company for years, and we wish them the best.” The company also argued that new hires leaving or returning to previous employers is not unusual.
Impact on Meta’s AI Plans
Even with Meta’s calm response, industry watchers believe these exits could be a setback for the company’s AI ambitions, especially since many of the departees were central to building its AI foundation. With rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic continuing to attract talent, Meta’s challenge will be holding on to its remaining experts while pushing forward with its ambitious AI projects.
