Meta Platforms has paused hiring in its artificial intelligence division after adding more than 50 researchers and engineers to its team, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, August 20. The freeze, which began last week, comes alongside a wider restructuring of the division and also prevents existing employees from transferring between internal AI teams. Meta has not disclosed how long the hiring restrictions will remain in place.
Addressing the move, a Meta spokesperson said, “All that’s happening here is some basic organisational planning: creating a solid structure for our new superintelligence efforts after bringing people on board and undertaking yearly budgeting and planning exercises.”
The decision comes at a time when major technology companies are competing fiercely for AI talent. While rivals like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI have also been hiring aggressively, Meta has often led the charge, luring researchers with compensation packages worth up to nine figures. Analysts, however, have cautioned that Meta’s escalating spending on AI, particularly through stock-based compensation, could pose risks to shareholder value in the long run.
As part of the restructuring, Meta has reorganised its AI division into four groups. The TBD Lab will focus on superintelligence and includes many of the latest recruits. A second team is dedicated to building AI-powered products, a third manages infrastructure, and the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team continues to work on long-term projects and exploratory research, remaining largely unaffected by the changes. Together, these units form the Meta Superintelligence Labs, reflecting CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s sharpened focus on building AI systems that could surpass human intelligence in specific cognitive tasks.
To strengthen leadership in this field, Zuckerberg has made high-profile appointments. He recruited Alexandr Wang, co-founder of Scale AI, following Meta’s $14 billion investment in his company. He also brought in former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, co-founder of Safe Superintelligence, with Meta considering an investment in their venture firm.
By mid-August, Meta had successfully hired more than 50 professionals, including over 20 from OpenAI, at least 13 from Google, three from Apple, three from Elon Musk’s xAI, and two from Anthropic.
With this restructuring and talent influx, Meta is signaling its intent to become a dominant player in the global race to develop artificial superintelligence.
