Indian-origin OpenAI researcher joins Meta in latest AI talent shift
Bansal, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, had been with OpenAI since 2022. During his tenure at the San Francisco-based AI powerhouse, he was instrumental in shaping the company's reinforcement learning research initiatives, working closely with co-founder Ilya Sutskever. He also played a pivotal role in the development of OpenAI's first reasoning model, known as o1.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Bansal announced his transition to Meta, stating, 'Thrilled to be joining @Meta! Superintelligence is now in sight ????.' Though his exact position at Meta has not been disclosed, the post indicates he may be joining Meta's recently established Superintelligence Labs.
The formation of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) was revealed earlier this week in an internal memo by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The new division is expected to oversee the company's most advanced AI research. It will be led by Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang, with former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman serving as co-lead. According to Bloomberg, Zuckerberg described Wang as 'the most impressive founder of his generation.'
Bansal's departure comes shortly after another key OpenAI researcher, Lucas Beyer, also moved to join Meta's superintelligence team, highlighting an intensifying competition for AI talent among tech giants.
Before joining OpenAI full-time, Bansal held research internships at Microsoft and Google. His academic credentials include a Master of Science in Mathematics and Statistics from IIT Kanpur, in addition to his research work at IISc.
As Meta ramps up its efforts to develop cutting-edge AI systems, the addition of top researchers like Bansal underscores the company's growing ambitions in the field of artificial superintelligence.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
12 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Singapore unveils tougher crypto regulations
SINGAPORE: Singapore ramped up crypto exchange regulations Monday in a bid to curb money laundering and boost market confidence after a series of high-profile scandals rattled the sector. The city-state's central bank last month said digital token service providers (DTSPs) that served only overseas clients must have a licence to continue operations past June 30 - or close up shop. The Monetary Authority of Singapore in a subsequent statement added that it has 'set the bar high for licensing and will generally not issue a license' for such operations. Singapore, a major Asian financial hub, has taken a hit to its reputation after several high-profile recent cases dented trust in the emerging crypto sector. These included the collapse of cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and Terraform Labs, which both filed for bankruptcy in 2022. 'The money laundering risks are higher in such business models and if their substantive regulated activity is outside of Singapore, the MAS is unable to effectively supervise such persons,' the central bank said, referring to firms serving solely foreign clients. Analysts welcomed the move to tighten controls on crypto exchanges. 'With the new DTSP regime, MAS is reinforcing that financial integrity is a red line,' Chengyi Ong, head of Asia Pacific policy at crypto data group Chainalysis, told AFP. 'The goal is to insulate Singapore from the reputational risk that a crypto business based in Singapore, operating without sufficient oversight, is knowingly or unknowingly involved in illicit activity.' Law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher said in a comment on its website that the move will 'allow Singapore to be fully compliant' with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force, the France-based global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. Three Arrows Capital filed for bankruptcy in 2022 when its fortunes suffered a sharp decline after a massive sell-off of assets it had bet on as prices nosedived in crypto markets. Its Singaporean co-founder Su Zhu was arrested at Changi Airport while trying to leave the country and jailed for four months. A court in the British Virgin Islands later ordered a US$1.14 billion worldwide asset freeze on the company's founders. Singapore-based Terraform Labs also saw its cryptocurrencies crash dramatically in 2022, forcing it to file for bankruptcy protection in the United States. The collapse of the firm's TerraUSD and Luna wiped out around US$40 billion in investments and caused wider losses in the global crypto market estimated at more than US$400 billion. South Korean Do Kwon, who co-founded Terraform in 2018, was arrested in 2023 in Montenegro and later extradited to the United States on fraud charges related to the crash. He had been on the run after fleeing Singapore and South Korea. — AFP
Arab Times
18 hours ago
- Arab Times
Indian-origin OpenAI researcher joins Meta in latest AI talent shift
SAN FRANCISCO, July 1: In another high-profile departure from OpenAI, Indian-origin researcher Trapit Bansal has joined Meta, marking a significant shift in the competitive landscape of artificial intelligence talent. Bansal, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, had been with OpenAI since 2022. During his tenure at the San Francisco-based AI powerhouse, he was instrumental in shaping the company's reinforcement learning research initiatives, working closely with co-founder Ilya Sutskever. He also played a pivotal role in the development of OpenAI's first reasoning model, known as o1. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Bansal announced his transition to Meta, stating, 'Thrilled to be joining @Meta! Superintelligence is now in sight ????.' Though his exact position at Meta has not been disclosed, the post indicates he may be joining Meta's recently established Superintelligence Labs. The formation of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) was revealed earlier this week in an internal memo by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The new division is expected to oversee the company's most advanced AI research. It will be led by Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang, with former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman serving as co-lead. According to Bloomberg, Zuckerberg described Wang as 'the most impressive founder of his generation.' Bansal's departure comes shortly after another key OpenAI researcher, Lucas Beyer, also moved to join Meta's superintelligence team, highlighting an intensifying competition for AI talent among tech giants. Before joining OpenAI full-time, Bansal held research internships at Microsoft and Google. His academic credentials include a Master of Science in Mathematics and Statistics from IIT Kanpur, in addition to his research work at IISc. As Meta ramps up its efforts to develop cutting-edge AI systems, the addition of top researchers like Bansal underscores the company's growing ambitions in the field of artificial superintelligence.
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Kuwait Times
UN chief urges aid surge in world of ‘climate chaos, raging conflicts'
US-led cuts jeopardize fight against poverty and climate change SEVILLE, Spain: UN chief Antonio Guterres urged the world to 'rev up the engine of development' at an aid conference on Monday as US-led cuts jeopardize the fight against poverty and climate change. Dozens of world leaders and more than 4,000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions are in the Spanish city of Seville for the June 30-July 3 meeting to seek fresh impetus for the crisis-hit sector. But the United States is snubbing the biggest aid talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change. Guterres told the opening of the conference that two-thirds of UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 were 'lagging' and more than $4 trillion of annual investment were needed to achieve them. President Donald Trump's gutting of US development agency USAID is the standout example of aid cuts, but Germany, Britain and France have also slashed funds while boosting spending in defense and other areas. The Oxfam charity says the cuts are the largest since 1960, while according to the World Bank rising extreme poverty is affecting sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Disruption to global trade from Trump's tariffs and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have dealt further blows to the diplomatic cohesion necessary for concentrating efforts on helping countries escape poverty. The crisis meant children going unvaccinated, girls dropping out of school and families suffering hunger, said Guterres. He urged nations to 'change course' and 'repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment' in 'a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts'. A blistering heatwave that is scorching southern Europe welcomed delegates, an example of the extreme weather that scientists say human-driven climate change is fuelling. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it was 'time to take a step forward and not only reaffirm our commitment, but also redouble it'. Among the key discussion points is reforming international finance to help poorer countries shrug off a growing debt burden that is holding back progress in health and education. The total external debt of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data. Critics have singled out US-based bulwarks of the post-World War II international financial system, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for reform to improve their representation of the Global South. 'Public international finance remains indispensable. Africa is not asking for favors. We are asking for fairness, partnership and investment,' said Kenyan President William Ruto, urging the United States to reconsider its position. A common declaration was adopted on the basis of a previously agreed text that only went ahead after the United States walked out. The document reaffirms commitment to the UN development goals such as eliminating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, reforming tax systems and international financial institutions. The text also calls on development banks to triple their lending capacity, urges lenders to ensure predictable finance for essential social spending and for more cooperation against tax evasion. 'What was once radical is now becoming mainstream. We finally have a consensus on reforming the international financial architecture,' said Ruto. Coalitions of countries will seek to spearhead initiatives in addition to the so-called 'Seville Commitment', which is not legally binding. But campaigners criticized the text for lacking ambition and have rung alarm bells about rising global inequality. Responding to a question by AFP, Guterres insisted in a press conference that the Seville agreement was a step forward. But he acknowledged 'resistances' to the drive for change and sent a 'message to the powerful'. 'It is better for them to lead the reform of the system now than to wait and eventually suffer the resistance later when power relations change,' he said. — AFP
