In many ways, the current adjustments are to be expected, given the frenetic pace and cost with which it was all put together. But the moves are noteworthy nevertheless in this AI Tech Wave.
“Meta is cutting several hundred roles from its AI unit even as it continues to hire for its newer TBD Lab, Axios has learned.”
“Why it matters: The company concluded that its long-standing AI efforts had become overly bureaucratic and hopes the reorganization will create a more agile operation, according to an internal memo seen by Axios.”
“By reducing the size of our team, fewer conversations will be required to make a decision, and each person will be more load-bearing and have more scope and impact,” Meta Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang wrote in the memo.”
“Driving the news: Meta is cutting roughly 600 positions out of the several thousand roles within Meta’s superintelligence lab.”
“The cuts will affect the company’s FAIR AI research, product-related AI and AI infrastructure units, while sparing the newly formed TBD Lab unit.”
“U.S. employees will learn by 7am Pacific time Wednesday whether their jobs are affected, Wang said in the memo.”
“The company is encouraging affected employees to apply for other jobs within Meta and expects most will find another position internally.”
“This is a talented group of individuals, and we need their skills in other parts of the company,” Wang said.”
Again, the move does not represent a slowdown on Meta AI vs its peers for Meta. It’s in front of 3.5 billion mainstream users globally of Meta’s core networks and platforms.
“The other side: The company is still actively recruiting and hiring for its TBD Lab unit.”
“Most recently, the company hired OpenAI research scientist Ananya Kumar, according to a source.”
The super catalyst of all this change of course remains Zuck’s laser focus on AI platforms and monetization ahead.
“Between the lines: CEO Mark Zuckerberg grew concerned several months ago that the company’s existing AI efforts weren’t leading to needed breakthroughs or improved performance.”
That conclusion led to this reorganization, the launch of TBD Labs, and the pricey hiring binge that coincided with Meta’s $15 billion investment in Scale AI and the hiring of Wang.
“I’m really excited about the models we’re training, our compute plans and the products we’re building, and I’m confident in our path to build towards superintelligence,” Wang said in the memo.”
This move does not mean any paring of Meta’s overall AI Infrastructure goals. Especially in ramping up its AI Data Centers and multi-gigawatt Power, toe to toe with Elon Musk’s xAI/Tesla Grok, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and of course the newly aggressive OpenAI.
But it does indicate that Meta is thinking through its core resource needs on all AI fronts ahead in this AI Tech Wave. Stay tuned.
(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)
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