Latest news with #MetaConnect
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First Post
3 days ago
- Business
- First Post
As race for AI heats up, Meta poaches three OpenAI researchers
Sam Altman recently said Mark Zuckerberg has been personally reaching out to top AI scientists, messaging them via WhatsApp and organising meetings read more Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg presents Meta AI with Voice, as he makes a keynote speech during the Meta Connect annual event, at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, US, on September 25, 2024. (Photo: Reuters) Meta has poached three senior researchers from OpenAI, marking a notable gain in its ongoing effort to attract top artificial intelligence talent, even as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly dismissed the tactics used by Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. The three researchers, Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai, previously established OpenAI's Zurich office and have now joined Meta's recently formed superintelligence team, The Wall Street Journal recently reported. Their hiring comes amid a high-profile recruiting campaign by Zuckerberg, who, according to reports, has been offering compensation packages worth more than $100 million in attempts to lure AI researchers away from OpenAI and other competitors. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sam Altman mocks Mark Zuckerberg's tactics Altman, in a recent podcast with his brother Jack, said Zuckerberg has been personally reaching out to top AI scientists, messaging them via WhatsApp and organising meetings through a chat group reportedly dubbed 'Recruiting Party'. The Journal reported that Zuckerberg has hosted prospective hires at his homes in Palo Alto and Lake Tahoe. The aggressive approach has had mixed results. Meta recently secured a $14 billion partnership with Scale AI, bringing CEO Alexandr Wang on board. But efforts to recruit OpenAI co-founders Ilya Sutskever and John Schulman were unsuccessful. Both have launched their own startups in recent months. In the same podcast, Altman said, 'I'm really happy that, at least so far, none of our best people have decided to take him up on [those offers].' Meta's big spending plans Meta plans on splurging up to a whopping $65 billion on capital expenditures this year. The amount would be to largely to build out its AI ambitions. Over the course of last couple of months, Zuckerberg has tried to project the vision of a future where people speak to friends that are AI, use AI to create advertising campaigns from scratch, and get in touch with AI business agents when they need to speak to a brand.
Express Tribune
17-06-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Meta Oakley glasses leaked: Find out what's known so far ahead of June 20 announcement date
Meta has announced a new partnership with Oakley to develop smart glasses, with a reveal scheduled for June 20. This collaboration is expected to expand upon the success of Meta's popular Ray-Ban smart glasses, with Oakley set to enter the smart eyewear market. In a teaser shared by Meta's CTO, Andrew Bosworth, a promotional video featuring both brands' logos hinted at a major upcoming release. This marks the culmination of a partnership that began in January when reports first suggested that Meta was working with Oakley to create a new version of its smart glasses. Unlike the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which feature a camera but no display, the Oakley smart glasses are expected to have a similar design but with a few key modifications. Leaks by Android Central indicate that the camera will be relocated to the centre of the frame and will feature specific enhancements for cyclists and athletes. Oakley's Sphaera glasses, known for their sporty design, will likely serve as the base model for these new smart specs. The launch is scheduled earlier than expected, surprising many as Meta usually unveils new products at its Meta Connect event in September. However, Oakley's official Instagram confirmed the June 20 date, offering a glimpse of the future of smart eyewear. Despite Meta's leading position in the smart glasses market, the timing of this launch suggests it may be a strategic response to Google's recent announcement of Android XR glasses, set to debut in 2026. With multiple brands collaborating on Android XR glasses, Meta's swift move to launch the Oakley specs could give it a significant advantage in the smart eyewear sector. Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses have been among the company's most successful gadgets, and this partnership with Oakley could further cement its dominance in the market. With its existing market lead, Meta continues to innovate in the wearable tech space, leaving competitors such as Google to catch up.
First Post
10-06-2025
- Business
- First Post
Zuckerberg aims for 'superintelligence' with new AI lab at Meta
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has set up a new artificial intelligence (AI) lab to pursue 'superintelligence', a stage where AI surpasses the capabilities of the human mind. read more Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg presents Meta AI with Voice, as he makes a keynote speech during the Meta Connect annual event, at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, US, on September 25, 2024. (Photo: Reuters) With his latest initiative, Mark Zuckerberg has put Meta on the pursuit of 'superintelligence', a stage where AI surpasses the capabilities of the human mind. Meta CEO Zuckerberg is putting together a team of AI scientists and researchers drawn from the likes of OpenAI, Google, and start-up Scale to set up a new AI lab that will work towards developing superintelligence, according to The New York Times. Scale and its founder-CEO, 28-year-old Alexandr Wang, are critical to Zuckerberg's vision. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With a multi-billion dollar investment in Scale, Zuckerberg intends to align the company with Meta in the pursuit of superintelligence just like OpenAI is aligned with Microsoft, DeepMind is with Google, and Anthropic is with Amazon. The news has come at a time when advancements in AI have sparked concerns about ethics and safety. There are concerns that superintelligent AI could no longer remain within human control and pose an existential threat to humanity if its values do not align with that of humans. There are also concerns of the fallout of superintelligent AI acquiring sentience. After initial setback, Zuckerberg wants to outdo rivals After losing out in the AI race to rivals like Google and Microsoft, Zuckerberg has now set his eyes on the race to superintelligence. Zuckerberg has offered up to seven- to nine-figure packages to dozens of researchers from OpenAI and Google to join the new superintelligence team at Meta, according to The Times. While Zuckerberg had set Meta's first dedicated AI lab in 2013, the company lost to Google and others in the race as they partnered with AI-centered start-ups like DeepMind, Antrhphic, and OpenAI, which are now world leaders in AI. While these companies are focussed on achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), the stage where AI can do everything that a human mind can, Meta has now raised the goalpost to superintelligence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A table comparing superintelligence and artificial general intelligence (AGI). Bloomberg has reported that Zuckerberg has been frustrated with Meta's AI model, Llama, whose latest edition has underperformed compared to offerings of rival companies. Insiders as well as outside analysts have found the model as having over-promised and under-delivered. In the wake of such a disappointment, Meta has also delayed the release of Behemoth, the largest AI model of the company so far, which it had promised to be better than models of rivals OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
The Star
10-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Meta's Zuckerberg is hiring for new AI team, Bloomberg News reports
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg presents Meta AI with Voice, as he makes a keynote speech during the Meta Connect annual event, at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S. September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo
The Star
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Meta eyes US$10bil Scale AI investment
Strategic push: Zuckerberg speaking during the annual Meta Connect event in California. The company's push includes an effort to make Llama the industry standard worldwide. — Bloomberg CALIFORNIA: Meta Platforms Inc is in talks to make a multi-billion-dollar investment into artificial intelligence (AI) startup Scale AI, according to sources. The financing could exceed US$10bil in value, some of the people said, making it one of the largest private company funding events of all time. The terms of the deal are not finalised and could still change, according to sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. A representative for Scale did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meta declined to comment. Scale AI, whose customers include Microsoft Corp and OpenAI, provides data labelling services to help companies train machine-learning models and has become a key beneficiary of the generative AI boom. The startup was last valued at about US$14bil in 2024, in a funding round that included backing from Meta and Microsoft. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Scale was in talks for a tender offer that would value it at US$25bil. This would be Meta's biggest ever external AI investment and a rare move for the company. The social media giant has before now mostly depended on its in-house research, plus a more open development strategy, to make improvements in its AI technology. Meanwhile, Big Tech peers have invested heavily: Microsoft has put more than US$13bil into OpenAI, while both Inc and Alphabet Inc have put billions into rival Anthropic. Part of those companies' investments have been through credits to use their computing power. Meta doesn't have a cloud business, and it's unclear what format Meta's investment will take. Chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg has made AI Meta's top priority and said in January that the company would spend as much as US$65bil on related projects this year. The company's push includes an effort to make Llama the industry standard worldwide. Meta's AI chatbot – already available on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – is used by one billion people per month. Scale, co-founded in 2016 by CEO Alexandr Wang, has been growing quickly: The startup generated revenue of US$870mil last year and expects sales to more than double to US$2bil in 2025, Bloomberg had previously reported. Scale plays a key role in making AI data available for companies. Because AI is only as good as the data that goes into it, Scale uses scads of contract workers to tidy up and tag images, text and other data that can then be used for AI training. Scale and Meta share an interest in defence technology. Last week, Meta announced a new partnership with defence contractor Anduril Industries Inc to develop products for the US military, including an AI-powered helmet with virtual and augmented reality features. Meta has also granted approval for US government agencies and defence contractors to use its AI models. The company is already partnering with Scale on a programme called Defence Llama – a version of Meta's Llama large language model intended for military use. Scale has increasingly been working with the US government to develop AI for defence purposes. Earlier this year the startup said it won a contract with the Defence Department to work on AI agent technology. The company called the contract 'a significant milestone in military advancement'. — Bloomberg
