In a significant leadership shift within the AI ecosystem, Chaya Nayak, a senior Meta executive of Indian origin, has announced her departure from the company after nearly a decade. Her exit marks a major talent loss for Mark Zuckerberg’s AI ambitions, especially at a time when Meta is experiencing multiple senior-level departures from its artificial intelligence teams.
Reflecting on her journey, Nayak shared how her career at Meta began with a bold initiative. “I remember my first weeks at Facebook like they were yesterday. I joined to help jumpstart Data for Good, an effort to show how data and AI/ML could benefit the world. What started as a bold experiment grew into the foundation of my career,” she wrote.
Over the years, Nayak drove several transformative projects at Meta. She was instrumental in creating Disaster Maps, a tool that aided communities during crises, and later led the Facebook Open Research and Transparency (FORT) team, focusing on ethical and responsible data practices. Her leadership extended to high-stakes global initiatives, including Meta’s work during the US 2020 elections. More recently, she pivoted to Generative AI, contributing directly to the development of three generations of Llama and Meta AI, which remain central to Meta’s AI roadmap. “In the last 2.5 years, I worked on GenAI – building three generations of Llama and Meta AI, solving hard problems at incredible speed, and imagining what the next wave of AI could mean for society,” she noted.
Looking ahead, Nayak revealed her next chapter will be at OpenAI, where she will collaborate with Irina Kofman on Special Initiatives. “Today, I’m joining OpenAI to work with Irina Kofman on Special Initiatives – exploring new opportunities at the frontier of AI. It feels like the perfect next chapter: to take everything I’ve learned, and pour it into work that will help define what comes next for technology and society,” she announced, adding, “The journey isn’t over. I’m just turning the page.”
Her departure adds to a string of recent exits from Meta’s AI division. Key figures including Rishabh Agarwal, Avi Verma, and Ethan Knight have also left, with Verma and Knight rejoining Sam Altman-led OpenAI. Agarwal, despite receiving a seven-figure salary at Meta, cited the desire to pursue “a different kind of risk”. These departures underline the competitive and turbulent landscape of the AI sector, as top talent gravitates toward frontier opportunities.
