Meta Launches Superintelligence Labs to Accelerate AGI Push

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled a major restructuring of the company’s AI division by launching Meta Superintelligence Labs, a new unit focused on advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI). Leading the initiative is Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI, who joins Meta as Chief AI Officer. The move comes amid underwhelming responses to Meta’s Llama 4 model and increasing pressure from competitors like Google, OpenAI, and China’s DeepSeek.

Zuckerberg aims to fast-track AGI development and drive monetization through Meta AI-powered applications, image-to-video ad tools, and smart wearables. Meta recently invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI and has aggressively recruited top talent, offering multimillion-dollar packages. The company reportedly tried to hire staff from OpenAI, including co-founder Ilya Sutskever’s new venture, Safe Superintelligence (SSI).

Meta Superintelligence Labs will include SSI CEO Daniel Gross and be co-led by former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, who will focus on AI product development and applied research. The team has already added 11 new AI researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, including ex-DeepMind scientists Jack Rae and Pei Sun, and OpenAI veterans Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, Shengjia Zhao, and Hongyu Ren. Anthropic’s Joel Pobar, a Meta alumnus, also rejoins.

Despite the bold vision, analysts question whether Meta’s AGI investment will deliver short-term value. Its Reality Labs unit has already spent over $60 billion with limited commercial success. Nonetheless, big tech’s AI race continues, with an estimated $320 billion in spending this year alone. Industry leaders like SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son expect AGI breakthroughs within a decade, though Meta’s own chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, remains skeptical of current approaches.