Latest news with #MultimodalLanguageModel
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
A 24-year-old AI researcher turned down $125 million offer from Meta, Zuckerberg doubled it up to Rs 21,791,975,000
Meta's pursuit of 24-year-old AI researcher Matt Deitke has turned heads across Silicon Valley and beyond. After declining a $125 million offer, Deitke was approached personally by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Following their meeting, the offer was revised to $250 million in stock and cash, including as much as $100 million up front. According to a report by The New York Times, Deitke initially chose to focus on his AI startup Vercept instead of joining Meta's Superintelligence Lab. Two sources familiar with the talks said Zuckerberg's direct involvement changed that. The compensation was so significant that Deitke sought advice from trusted peers, many of whom urged him to take the deal. Eventually, he did. This isn't just a story about money. It signals how aggressively Big Tech is recruiting AI talent as the race to dominate artificial intelligence Deitke's path to prominence didn't follow a typical corporate route. He began in a PhD programme in computer science at the University of Washington but left before completion to focus on real-world AI problems. That decision led him to the Allen Institute for AI (AI2) in Seattle, where he quickly stood out. At AI2, Deitke led the creation of Molmo, a multimodal chatbot capable of processing not just text, but also images and audio. Unlike many language-based models, Molmo was designed to reason through visual and auditory data—an ambitious leap toward more human-like AI. The project was a success. His paper on the subject won an Outstanding Paper Award at NeurIPS 2022, one of the most respected conferences in the field. Out of more than 10,000 submissions, only a handful received the award. This achievement established Deitke as a serious figure in the AI community, one whose work wasn't just experimental but functional and (short for Multimodal Language Model) broke away from the conventions of typical AI chatbots. It wasn't limited to written language. It could interpret photos, understand sound inputs, and respond in a way that accounted for context across different system was capable of spatial reasoning and interpreting real-time sensory input, giving it an edge over traditional large language models that rely purely on text. These features aligned closely with Meta's own AI vision, which aims to build systems that can not only talk but also understand the world in a more layered, perceptive approach placed him at the forefront of AI research focused on perception and reasoning, two areas critical to advancing general-purpose late 2023, Deitke shifted focus again and co-founded Vercept, a startup aimed at building AI agents that act independently. Unlike typical AI tools that wait for human instructions, Vercept's agents were designed to identify goals, explore the internet, perform actions, and adjust to different digital idea was simple but bold: build AI that doesn't just respond, but thinks and acts. Vercept launched with just ten employees but quickly gained traction. The company raised $16.5 million in early funding. Among its high-profile backers was Eric Schmidt, former CEO of that, Deitke showed he wasn't only a researcher but an entrepreneur ready to challenge the industry from Superintelligence Lab is a cornerstone of its AI ambitions. The company has already spent over $1 billion assembling what some call an "all-star roster." It includes researchers lured from rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, Apple, and of the most notable recent hires was Ruoming Pang, who previously led Apple's AI models team. His reported compensation exceeded $200 million. In that context, Meta's $250 million offer to Deitke doesn't seem so out of line—it's part of a broader strategy to corner elite talent before competitors combination of academic research, product vision, and startup experience made him a rare candidate. He had proven that he could not only theorise about the future of AI but actually build Deitke's journey—from dropping out of a PhD to building multimodal systems and rejecting $125 million—has become a symbol of how the AI landscape is shifting. The brightest minds are not just employees anymore. They're independent thinkers, entrepreneurs, and public intellectuals with negotiating eventual decision to join Meta suggests that the influence of Big Tech remains strong, but it's no longer unquestioned. Researchers like Deitke are now in a position to shape the direction of AI on their own Meta, like its rivals, knows it must offer more than just money. It has to offer vision, control, and the freedom to build what comes next.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
A 24-year-old AI researcher turned down $125 million offer from Meta, Zuckerberg doubled it up to Rs 21,791,975,000
From academia to AI labs: The rise of Matt Deitke Live Events What makes Molmo stand out Building Vercept: AI agents that don't wait for prompts Why Meta had to act fast What this means for the AI world (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Meta's pursuit of 24-year-old AI researcher Matt Deitke has turned heads across Silicon Valley and beyond. After declining a $125 million offer, Deitke was approached personally by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg . Following their meeting, the offer was revised to $250 million in stock and cash, including as much as $100 million up to a report by The New York Times, Deitke initially chose to focus on his AI startup Vercept instead of joining Meta's Superintelligence Lab . Two sources familiar with the talks said Zuckerberg's direct involvement changed that. The compensation was so significant that Deitke sought advice from trusted peers, many of whom urged him to take the deal. Eventually, he isn't just a story about money. It signals how aggressively Big Tech is recruiting AI talent as the race to dominate artificial intelligence Deitke's path to prominence didn't follow a typical corporate route. He began in a PhD programme in computer science at the University of Washington but left before completion to focus on real-world AI problems. That decision led him to the Allen Institute for AI (AI2) in Seattle, where he quickly stood AI2, Deitke led the creation of Molmo, a multimodal chatbot capable of processing not just text, but also images and audio. Unlike many language-based models, Molmo was designed to reason through visual and auditory data—an ambitious leap toward more human-like AI. The project was a success. His paper on the subject won an Outstanding Paper Award at NeurIPS 2022 , one of the most respected conferences in the field. Out of more than 10,000 submissions, only a handful received the achievement established Deitke as a serious figure in the AI community, one whose work wasn't just experimental but functional and (short for Multimodal Language Model) broke away from the conventions of typical AI chatbots. It wasn't limited to written language. It could interpret photos, understand sound inputs, and respond in a way that accounted for context across different system was capable of spatial reasoning and interpreting real-time sensory input, giving it an edge over traditional large language models that rely purely on text. These features aligned closely with Meta's own AI vision, which aims to build systems that can not only talk but also understand the world in a more layered, perceptive approach placed him at the forefront of AI research focused on perception and reasoning, two areas critical to advancing general-purpose late 2023, Deitke shifted focus again and co-founded Vercept, a startup aimed at building AI agents that act independently. Unlike typical AI tools that wait for human instructions, Vercept's agents were designed to identify goals, explore the internet, perform actions, and adjust to different digital idea was simple but bold: build AI that doesn't just respond, but thinks and acts. Vercept launched with just ten employees but quickly gained traction. The company raised $16.5 million in early funding. Among its high-profile backers was Eric Schmidt, former CEO of that, Deitke showed he wasn't only a researcher but an entrepreneur ready to challenge the industry from Superintelligence Lab is a cornerstone of its AI ambitions. The company has already spent over $1 billion assembling what some call an "all-star roster." It includes researchers lured from rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, Apple, and of the most notable recent hires was Ruoming Pang, who previously led Apple's AI models team. His reported compensation exceeded $200 million. In that context, Meta's $250 million offer to Deitke doesn't seem so out of line—it's part of a broader strategy to corner elite talent before competitors combination of academic research, product vision, and startup experience made him a rare candidate. He had proven that he could not only theorise about the future of AI but actually build Deitke's journey—from dropping out of a PhD to building multimodal systems and rejecting $125 million—has become a symbol of how the AI landscape is shifting. The brightest minds are not just employees anymore. They're independent thinkers, entrepreneurs, and public intellectuals with negotiating eventual decision to join Meta suggests that the influence of Big Tech remains strong, but it's no longer unquestioned. Researchers like Deitke are now in a position to shape the direction of AI on their own Meta, like its rivals, knows it must offer more than just money. It has to offer vision, control, and the freedom to build what comes next.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Who is Matt Deitke? 24-year-old AI genius who rejected Meta's $125 million offer and then Mark Zuckerberg personally met him with a doubled package
In the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, few names have made waves quite like Matt Deitke. At just 24, Deitke turned heads by rejecting a $125 million offer from Meta to join its elite AI division. What followed was even more astonishing: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally met with him and doubled the offer to an eye-popping $250 million. Deitke's decision to finally accept showcases the extraordinary lengths Big Tech is now going to in order to secure top AI talent. But who is Matt Deitke, and why is he considered one of the brightest minds in artificial intelligence today? Matt Deitke's rise and how Mark Zuckerberg stepped in with a historic offer Matt Deitke began his academic career in a PhD programme in computer science at the University of Washington. Despite his early academic promise, he left the programme to pursue more hands-on work in artificial intelligence. This move surprised many but proved instrumental in shaping his career. Deitke joined the Allen Institute for AI (AI2) in Seattle, where he quickly made a name for himself. At AI2, Deitke led the development of Molmo, a state-of-the-art multimodal chatbot capable of understanding and reasoning through a combination of text, images, and audio. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Swelling and internal bleeding in the brain, help this baby Donate For Health Donate Now Undo His groundbreaking work earned him an Outstanding Paper Award at NeurIPS 2022, one of the most prestigious AI conferences in the world. With his rising reputation, it was not long before top tech companies began to notice. In 2024, Meta approached Deitke with a $125 million compensation package spread over four years to join its Superintelligence Lab. Surprisingly, he declined the offer, choosing to stay focused on independent research and his entrepreneurial ventures. Refusing to give up, Mark Zuckerberg personally met with Deitke to discuss Meta's vision for the future of AI. Following their conversation, the offer was doubled to approximately $250 million, with up to $100 million front-loaded in the first year. It was one of the most generous recruitment packages in AI history. This time, Deitke accepted. Building Molmo and earning global recognition at the Allen Institute for AI Before joining Meta, Deitke had already made significant contributions to AI research. At the Allen Institute for AI, he helped pioneer work on Molmo (Multimodal Language Model), a system designed to move beyond traditional text-based interaction by integrating visual and auditory data. Unlike chatbots that rely solely on language models, Molmo could respond with images, reason through spatial information, and interpret sensory input in real time. Deitke's work positioned him at the forefront of the next generation of AI tools—intelligent systems that combine perception and reasoning. His NeurIPS 2022 paper, which won an Outstanding Paper Award, drew attention for its bold approach to human-like AI reasoning. The achievement made Deitke not just a standout engineer but a thought leader in the AI space, someone capable of redefining how humans and machines interact. Vercept and Deitke's vision for autonomous AI agents In late 2023, while still outside the Big Tech ecosystem, Deitke co-founded Vercept, a startup aimed at building AI agents that can autonomously perform complex tasks on the internet. Unlike conventional AI tools that rely on human prompts, Vercept's agents are designed to understand goals, search the web, execute sequences of tasks, and adapt to new contexts. They essentially act like intelligent assistants with real-world functionality. Vercept began with just 10 employees but quickly attracted the attention of major investors. The company secured $16.5 million in early-stage funding, with notable backing from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The vision behind Vercept was simple but powerful: to create AI agents that don't just talk, but act. Matt Deitke's work at Vercept, combined with his academic and research accomplishments, painted a clear picture of his potential. As Big Tech continues its billion-dollar race to dominate AI, it is clear why Meta was willing to go to such extraordinary lengths to bring Deitke into the fold.
