Meta Welcomes Key OpenAI Scientist for AI Leadership Role

Yang Song has been recruited by Meta to fulfill the role of research principal at the Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL). Formerly leading the strategic explorations team at OpenAI, Song has started his new role under the guidance of Shengjia Zhao, another esteemed former OpenAI employee who has been pivotal in overseeing Meta's ambitious AI endeavors since July.

Song's association with OpenAI began back in 2022, where his work largely revolved around enhancing models to adeptly handle extensive and multifaceted datasets. His educational journey at Stanford University saw him pioneering breakthrough methodologies that greatly influenced model developments. Both Song and Zhao share an academic history, having studied at Tsinghua University in Beijing as undergraduates and further pursuing doctoral studies under the mentorship of Stefano Ermon at Stanford.

Strategic Acquisitions in AI

The recruitment of Song follows Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg's strategic hiring campaign earlier in the summer, during which the company successfully attracted at least 11 leading researchers from categories including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

In a company-wide communication circulated earlier this year, Zuckerberg lauded Zhao's commendable achievements, highlighting his instrumental role in conceiving ChatGPT, GPT-4, and other advancements during his tenure at OpenAI. Although Zuckerberg detailed Zhao’s past contributions, specific details of his new role at Meta were initially omitted. As of July, it has been made clear that Zhao has formally assumed the role of chief scientist, entrusted with steering the lab’s major scientific initiatives.

As is common with high-profile projects, Meta Superintelligence Labs has experienced some attrition. A small cohort of researchers parted ways with the organization since its inception in June. One notable departure involved a researcher who completed onboarding but opted not to commence work formally.

Existing Landscape of AI Talent at Meta

Yang Song's entry adds to an already extensive roster of prominent AI professionals within Meta's complex AI division. Speculations arose upon Zhao's hiring regarding his possible replacement of Yann LeCun, Meta’s enduring chief AI scientist; however, LeCun promptly took to LinkedIn to reaffirm his holding as the chief AI scientist leading Facebook AI Research (FAIR), Meta’s longtime core AI research entity.