Meta has appointed Shengjia Zhao, one of the key minds behind ChatGPT and GPT-4, as Chief Scientist of its newly established Superintelligence Lab. Zhao previously served as a research scientist at OpenAI, where he was instrumental in developing several state-of-the-art AI models.
In his new role, Zhao will lead advanced AI research at Meta, working closely with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang. His focus will center on developing cutting-edge AI reasoning systems — a domain where Meta aims to catch up with competitors like OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
This high-profile hire is part of Meta’s aggressive push to attract elite AI talent, often luring researchers from rival companies with lucrative offers. Zhao’s appointment follows a string of similar acquisitions, including the recruitment of Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI, and Nat Friedman, ex-CEO of GitHub.
According to a Reuters report, the creation of Meta’s Superintelligence Lab comes in response to underwhelming performance from its Llama AI models compared to competing systems. The lab’s mission is to build general-purpose AI with human-like cognitive capabilities — often referred to as artificial general intelligence (AGI). Meta has also pledged to make much of this research open-source.
Zuckerberg has taken a personal interest in AI recruitment, reportedly hosting potential hires at his Lake Tahoe residence. With Zhao’s deep technical experience and Wang’s business acumen, observers believe Meta is assembling a well-balanced leadership team for its long-term AI ambitions.
