Meta's AI Research Chief Joelle Pineau Announces Departure Amid Intense AI Competition

Meta's head of AI research plans to leave the company | TechCrunch

Meta's VP of AI research, Joelle Pineau, is planning to leave the company, she announced in a post on Facebook Tuesday. Pineau said she's leaving in May after more than two years overseeing FAIR, Meta's internal AI research lab led by Yann LeCun. Pineau's exit comes as Meta ramps up its AI efforts, with the company planning to spend $65 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025. In a statement to Bloomberg News, a Meta spokesperson said the company does not have an immediate replacement for Pineau, but is conducting a search for her successor. Last year, Meta reportedly reorganized the company to have its AI research unit report to the company's Chief Product Officer, Chris Cox. As for Pineau, the executive said she'll take some time off before jumping into an unnamed "new adventure."

Meta's Head of AI Research to Leave, Roiling Investment Push

Meta Platforms Inc.'s head of artificial intelligence research plans to leave the company, creating a high-level vacancy just as Meta seeks to invest and compete aggressively in AI. Joelle Pineau, the vice president leading Meta's Fundamental AI Research group, known as FAIR, announced her departure internally on Tuesday, according to a copy of her post reviewed by Bloomberg. Pineau has been at the company for eight years, has lead the FAIR team since early 2023 and reports to Chief Product Officer Chris Cox.

Meta's head of AI research to depart in May

April 1 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms' (META.O), opens new tab head of artificial intelligence research, Joelle Pineau, plans to leave the company, at a time when the tech giant is aggressively investing and competing in the AI space. Pineau, who has been with the company for eight years and has led Meta's Fundamental AI Research group (FAIR) since 2023, will depart on May 30, she announced in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday. Over the years, she has worked on projects that are now being used by dozens of teams to build products, including PyTorch, FAISS, Roberta, Dino, Llama, SAM, Codegen and Audiobox, among others. "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," she wrote in the post. Last year, the company restructured its artificial intelligence division to unify its AI research portfolio, integrate advanced AI into its products and services, and streamline the development of new technologies. Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

Meta's head of AI research announces departure

Meta's head of artificial intelligence research announced Tuesday that she will be leaving the company. Joelle Pineau, the company's vice president of AI research, announced her departure in a LinkedIn post, saying her last day at the social media company will be May 30. Her departure comes at a challenging time for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority, investing billions of dollars in an effort to become the market leader ahead of rivals like OpenAI and Google. Zuckerberg has said that it is his goal for Meta to build an AI assistant with more than 1 billion users and artificial general intelligence, which is a term used to describe computers that can think and take actions comparable to humans. "As the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," Pineau wrote. "I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world, and to responsibly bring them into the lives of billions of people."

Meta's head of AI research stepping down

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) -- The head of Meta's artificial intelligence research division said she plans to step down, vacating a high-profile position at a time of intense competition in the development of AI technology. Joelle Pineau, Meta's vice president for AI research, said Tuesday she is leaving at the end of May after eight years with the company. "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," she wrote in a social media post. Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the move. Pineau didn't announce a replacement. Based in Montreal, where she is also a computer science professor at McGill University, Pineau has been the face of Meta's "open-source" approach to building AI systems, such as its flagship large language model called Llama, in which core components are publicly released for others to use or modify. Her announcement comes ahead of the company's debut of a new LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. In 2023, she began directing Meta's AI research division, formerly known as Facebook AI Research, which had been founded a decade earlier by a group that included pioneering AI researcher Yann LeCun. LeCun stepped down as the group's director in 2018 but remains Meta's chief AI scientist.

Meta's head of AI research stepping down

The head of Meta's artificial intelligence research division said she plans to step down, vacating a high-profile position at a time of intense competition in the development of AI technology. Joelle Pineau, Meta's vice president for AI research, said Tuesday she is leaving at the end of May after eight years with the company. "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," she wrote in a social media post. Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the move. Pineau didn't announce a replacement. Based in Montreal, where she is also a computer science professor at McGill University, Pineau has been the face of Meta's "open-source" approach to building AI systems, such as its flagship large language model called Llama, in which core components are publicly released for others to use or modify. Her announcement comes ahead of the company's debut of a new LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. In 2023, she began directing Meta's AI research division, formerly known as Facebook AI Research, which had been founded a decade earlier by a group that included pioneering AI researcher Yann LeCun. LeCun stepped down as the group's director in 2018 but remains Meta's chief AI scientist.

Meta's head of AI research announces departure

Meta's head of artificial intelligence research announced Tuesday that she will be leaving the company. Joelle Pineau, the company's vice president of AI research, announced her departure in a LinkedIn post, saying her last day at the social media company will be May 30. Her departure comes at a challenging time for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority, investing billions of dollars in an effort to become the market leader ahead of rivals like OpenAI and Google. Zuckerberg has said that it is his goal for Meta to build an AI assistant with more than 1 billion users and artificial general intelligence, which is a term used to describe computers that can think and take actions comparable to humans. "As the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," Pineau wrote. "I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world, and to responsibly bring them into the lives of billions of people." Vice President of AI Research and Head of FAIR at Meta Joell Pineau was one of Meta's top AI researchers and led the company's fundamental AI research unit, or FAIR, since 2023. There, she oversaw the company's cutting-edge computer science-related studies, some of which are eventually incorporated into the company's core apps. She joined the company in 2017 to lead Meta's Montreal AI research lab. Pineau is also a computer science professor at McGill University, where she is a co-director of its reasoning and learning lab. Some of the projects Pineau helped oversee include Meta's open-source Llama family of AI models and other technologies like the PyTorch software for AI developers. Pineau's departure announcement comes a few weeks ahead of Meta's LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. There, the company is expected to detail its latest version of Llama. Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, to whom Pineau reported to, said in March that Llama 4 will help power AI agents, the latest craze in generative AI. The company is also expected to announce a standalone app for its Meta AI chatbot, CNBC reported in February. "We thank Joelle for her leadership of FAIR," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. "She's been an important voice for Open Source and helped push breakthroughs to advance our products and the science behind them." Pineau did not reveal her next role but said she "will be taking some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure."

Meta's AI Research Head Joelle Pineau Announces Resignation

Joelle Pineau, vice president of AI Research at Meta, on Tuesday announced her resignation after nearly eight years with the company. Pineau, who joined Meta in 2017, revealed in a LinkedIn post that her last day will be May 30. Her departure comes as Meta intensifies its focus on artificial intelligence (AI), with plans to invest $65 billion in AI infrastructure this year. "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," Pineau wrote. She also revealed that she is planning to take time to "observe and reflect" before embarking on her next venture. Pineau played a pivotal role in advancing AI research at Meta. She led the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) group and spearheaded projects like PyTorch and Llama, among other open source initiatives. These efforts have significantly influenced Meta's products and the broader AI community. "I arrived at Meta...with the simple goal of solving AI and open-sourcing our research to accelerate innovation through the broader ecosystem," she stated. Under her leadership, FAIR grew into a team of approximately 1,000 researchers across ten locations globally. Pineau also emphasised responsible AI development during her tenure. Pineau's resignation comes amid fierce competition in AI development among tech giants like OpenAI and Google. The announcement also precedes Meta's inaugural LlamaCon conference on April 29, which aims to showcase its advancements in AI technology. Meta has not named a successor for Pineau yet. In addition to her industry work, Pineau will continue her academic role as a professor at McGill University's School of Computer Science in Montreal. While she has not disclosed specific details about her next steps, she expressed optimism about the future of AI research at Meta. "I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world."

Meta's head of AI research announces departure

Joelle Pineau will leave the organisation at the end of May, having worked at Meta since 2017. The VP of AI research at Meta, Joelle Pineau, has stated she will be leaving the company by the end of May, after nearly eight years with the organisation. She made the announcement on LinkedIn, where she said it "has been the professional experience of a lifetime". Pineau joined Meta in 2017 and during her time there oversaw a number of high-profile projects and groups, such as FAIR, Meta's fundamental AI research unit, PyTorch, a framework for building deep learning models and Meta's open-source Llama AI models. Pineau is employed at McGill University, as a professor of computer science. She is also the co-director of the institution's reasoning and learning lab. In her post, Pineau said, "I arrived at Meta in May 2017, thrilled to be joining forces with some of the world's best AI researchers, with the simple goal of solving AI and open-sourcing our research to accelerate innovation through the broader eco-system. Fast-forward to today, I am surrounded by the most inspiring and dedicated team, focused on our goal of achieving advanced machine Intelligence. "Through the years, we created and nurtured dozens of projects that are now household names at Meta, used by dozens of teams to build better products, PyTorch, FAISS, Roberta, Dino, Llama, SAM, Codegen, Audiobox and along the way, our world-class research has also made its way into the labs and homes of millions of researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, tinkerers, teachers, students and many others." She said the world is undergoing a significant change, as the race to innovate within the AI space accelerates. Notably, in late March it was announced that Meta would be launching its AI chatbot Meta AI in Europe, months on from a divisive DPC request which stalled the roll-out, over concerns with how large language models would be trained. Pineau thanked her team members and co-workers, explaining that, when she leaves at the end of May, she will be taking some time to "observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure". Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Meta's head of AI research stepping down

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- The head of Meta's artificial intelligence research division said she plans to step down, vacating a high-profile position at a time of intense competition in the development of AI technology. Joelle Pineau, Meta's vice president for AI research, said Tuesday she is leaving at the end of May after eight years with the company. "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," she wrote in a social media post. Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the move. Pineau didn't announce a replacement. Based in Montreal, where she is also a computer science professor at McGill University, Pineau has been the face of Meta's "open-source" approach to building AI systems, such as its flagship large language model called Llama, in which core components are publicly released for others to use or modify. Her announcement comes ahead of the company's debut of a new LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. In 2023, she began directing Meta's AI research division, formerly known as Facebook AI Research, which had been founded a decade earlier by a group that included pioneering AI researcher Yann LeCun. LeCun stepped down as the group's director in 2018 but remains Meta's chief AI scientist.

Meta's head of AI research stepping down

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) -- The head of Meta's artificial intelligence research division said she plans to step down, vacating a high-profile position at a time of intense competition in the development of AI technology. Joelle Pineau, Meta's vice president for AI research, said Tuesday she is leaving at the end of May after eight years with the company. "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," she wrote in a social media post. Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the move. Pineau didn't announce a replacement. Based in Montreal, where she is also a computer science professor at McGill University, Pineau has been the face of Meta's "open-source" approach to building AI systems, such as its flagship large language model called Llama, in which core components are publicly released for others to use or modify. Her announcement comes ahead of the company's debut of a new LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. In 2023, she began directing Meta's AI research division, formerly known as Facebook AI Research, which had been founded a decade earlier by a group that included pioneering AI researcher Yann LeCun. LeCun stepped down as the group's director in 2018 but remains Meta's chief AI scientist.

Meta's A.I. Research Head Joelle Pineau Steps Down

The researcher is resigning to "create space" for others working on A.I. efforts. As Meta (META) prepares to invest tens of billions of dollars in the race to develop artificial intelligence, the company is losing one of its most influential researchers. Joelle Pineau, head of A.I. research at Meta, announced yesterday (April 1) that she will leave the company next month "to create space for others to pursue the work," she wrote in a LinkedIn post. Her final day will be May 30. Afterward, Pineau said she plans to take "some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure." Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up Thank you for signing up! By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. See all of our newsletters Pineau has led Meta's Fundamental A.I. Research (FAIR) team since 2023. Her team oversees A.I. efforts across the company and is focused on achieving advanced forms of A.I. that demonstrate capabilities rivaling those of humans. It was founded over a decade ago with support from Meta's chief A.I. scientist Yann LeCun, who led the lab for five years before shifting to a more research-focused role as Meta's chief A.I. scientist.. In a statement to CNBC, Meta thanked Joelle for helping "push breakthroughs to advance our products and the science behind them." The FAIR team was behind the development of Llama, Meta's family of open-source large language models (LLMs) -- the only major open-source alternative to proprietary models like OpenAI's GPT and Google (GOOGL)'s Gemini. Meta is expected to share more updates on its open-source A.I. strategy at LlamaCon, its first developer conference dedicated to generative A.I., scheduled for April 29. The company aims to reach 1 billion monthly users this year for its Llama-powered Meta AI virtual assistant. Other projects spearheaded by the team include PyTorch, the popular machine learning framework, and Audiobox, an audio-generating A.I. model. In line with industry peers such as Google and OpenAI, Meta has sharply increased its investment in A.I. development. The company plans to spend between $60 billion and $65 billion this year alone. "going to be intense," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in January. That investment includes massive infrastructure expansions, such as a planned 4-million-square-foot data center in Louisiana and a plan to double Meta's graphics processing units (GPUs) to 1.3 million. Pineau's departure concludes an eight-year tenure at Meta. She joined the company in 2017 to lead an A.I. lab in Montreal and remains a professor of computer science at McGill University, where she co-directs the school's reasoning and learning lab. She is also a member of the Mila Quebec A.I. Institute.

Meta's head of AI research to leave, roiling investment push

Joelle Pineau, who's also a computer science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said she will remain at the company until May and then take some time to "observe and reflect."Meta Platforms Inc.'s head of artificial intelligence research plans to leave the company, creating a high-level vacancy just as Meta seeks to invest and compete aggressively in AI. Joelle Pineau, the vice president leading Meta's Fundamental AI Research group, known as FAIR, announced her departure on Tuesday. Pineau has been at the company for eight years, has led the FAIR team since early 2023 and reports to Chief Product Officer Chris Cox. Her group oversees Meta's AI research efforts, focused on everything from voice translation and image-recognition technology to the company's open-source large language model, called Llama. The unit also explores development of what Meta calls "advanced machine intelligence," or human-level intelligence for machines. Pineau, who's also a computer science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said she will remain at the company until May and then take some time to "observe and reflect." "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," she wrote in a note to colleagues. Pineau also posted her announcement on social media. Pineau's departure risks complicating Meta's effort to compete with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic and Elon Musk's xAI on AI products and talent. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has made AI Meta's top priority, and said in January that the company would spend as much as $65 billion on related projects this year. The company's push includes an effort to make Llama the industry standard worldwide. Zuckerberg has said he believes Meta's AI chatbot, already available on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, could be used by 1 billion people this year. Meta doesn't yet have a replacement for Pineau, but is conducting a search for her successor, a spokesperson said. Last year, the company reorganized its AI teams to put Pineau and FAIR closer to the product division, a decision intended to speed up the process of getting the group's research into Meta's various products. Meta remains committed to AI research and its plans haven't changed as part of Pineau's departure, the spokesperson added.

Meta's AI Chief Announces Departure While Mark Zuckerberg Doubles Down on AI Investments - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Joelle Pineau, the Vice President of AI research at Meta Platforms Inc. META, has decided to step down and leave the company in May. What Happened: Pineau announced her departure via a Facebook post on Tuesday. She has been with Meta since May 2017, overseeing the company's Fundamental AI Research lab (Fair), led by Yann LeCun. During her tenure, Pineau and her team have developed numerous projects that have become integral to Meta's operations. These include PyTorch, FAISS, Roberta, Dino, Llama, SAM, Codegen, and Audiobox. Pineau expressed her admiration and gratitude for her managers at Meta, including Michael Schroepfer, Jerome Pesenti, Michael Abrash and Chris Cox. She also acknowledged her team and collaborators, stating that they have been instrumental in charting the future of AI. See Also: Massive Data Breach At Elon Musk's X Reportedly Exposes Over 200 Million Users' Email IDs: 'By Far The Largest Social Media Breach Ever' In an October interview with the Financial Times, Pineau shared, "Meta was the only [company] that had a commitment to open science and open research. And so I didn't bother interviewing anywhere else." As Meta enters its next chapter, Pineau believes it's time to make way for others to continue the work. Her last day at Meta will be May 30, after which she plans to take some time to reflect before embarking on a new adventure. Why It Matters: Pineau's departure comes at a critical time for Meta, as the company is significantly increasing its investment in AI, with plans to spend $65 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025. This move is part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's strategy to prioritize AI at Meta, with projects like Llama, Meta's open-source large language model, at the forefront of this initiative. Zuckerberg's goal is to make Llama the industry standard worldwide and to expand the reach of Meta's AI chatbot across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to a billion users this year. As of December, 600 million users accessed Meta AI each month. Pineau's exit could pose challenges for Meta as it competes with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk's xAI. Furthermore, last year, Meta reportedly reorganized the company to have its AI research unit report to the company's chief product officer, Chris Cox, which could also be impacted by Pineau's departure. Read Next: Trump Travel Ban Might Hit This Bitcoin-Friendly Country And No It's Not El Salvador Image via Shutterstock METAMeta Platforms Inc$582.00-0.68%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum80.75Growth74.80Quality-Value42.12Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

AI trailblazer Joelle Pineau leaves Meta after 8 years at AI research

She said in a LinkedIn post that she will be taking some time to observe and to reflect before jumping into a new adventure. Joelle Pineau, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence Research at Meta Platforms, announced on LinkedIn her planned departure after nearly eight years. "After nearly 8 years at Meta, time has come to say farewell. This has been the professional experience of a lifetime!" said Pineau, according to her LinkedIn post. In a farewell note posted on social media, she remarked, "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," and noted that her last day would be May 30. She added that she would take time to observe and reflect before embarking on a new adventure and that she would be cheering from the sidelines. Her departure came shortly before Meta's first LlamaCon AI conference on April 29, which was set to feature the newest version of the company's open‐source large language model Llama 4. The announcement coincided with industry changes as Meta increased its investment in AI infrastructure, with plans to spend up to $65 billion in 2025. Competitors such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI intensified efforts to capture market share. Pineau joined Meta in May 2017 with the goal of "solving AI and open‐sourcing our research to accelerate innovation through the broader ecosystem" and became a proponent of responsible AI development. She oversaw the company's Fundamental AI Research lab from early 2023 and led a team that grew to nearly 1,000 researchers across ten locations. Under her leadership, the lab advanced projects in voice translation and image‐recognition technology and developed open‐source tools such as PyTorch, FAISS, RoBERTa, DINO, Llama, SAM, CodeGen, and AudioBox. Meta restructured its AI teams last year to unify its research portfolio and speed the integration of AI into its products and services. With CEO Mark Zuckerberg declaring AI as the company's top priority, Pineau's departure created a vacancy as Meta pursued new opportunities, including plans to extend its AI assistant across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. A Meta spokesperson noted that while the search for Pineau's successor was underway, the company remained committed to its AI strategy. The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.

Meta AI Research Chief Joelle Pineau Departs Amid Increased Investment Efforts | PYMNTS.com

"Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," wrote Pineau, who heads Meta's Fundamental AI Research (FAIR). "I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world, and to responsibly bring them into the lives of billions of people." FAIR's work focuses on topics ranging from voice translation and image-recognition technology to the company's Llama open-source model, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The group also studies what Meta calls "advanced machine intelligence," or human-level intelligence for machines. Meanwhile, there's a divergence in the financial impact of generative AI across different industries. Some sectors reap returns while others lag despite adoption. The PYMNTS Intelligence report "GenAI's ROI Divide: How Leading Industries Innovate While Others Lag" found that strategic alignment and customization are proving key for determining whether GenAI can yield tangible financial gains. The information sector leads in terms of GenAI offering a return on investments, with 65% of companies reporting very positive ROI from their GenAI deployments, outpacing other industries. This success is tied to the deployment of GenAI for high-impact tasks like content creation and cybersecurity. While all retail firms use general-purpose conversational AI for customer engagement, 17% reported very positive ROI, "suggesting that reliance on baseline models limits more transformative financial returns," PYMNTS wrote Tuesday.

Llama AI Pioneer Joelle Pineau Exits Meta After 8 Years as Executive Restructuring Continues

Meta's head of AI research, Joelle Pineau (in image) is leaving the company. | Credit: Paul Morigi / Getty Images. Amid an ongoing executive reshuffle, Meta's head of artificial intelligence (AI) research, Joelle Pineau, is leaving the company. During her eight years at Meta, Pineau worked on many of the company's most notable AI projects, including PyTorch and Llama. Joelle Pineau To Depart Meta In a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, March 1, Pineau announced her intention to step down as Meta's vice president for AI research, with her last day being May 30. Pineau used her statement to emphasize Meta's contributions to open-source AI, which include popular machine learning libraries like FAISS (Facebook AI Similarity Search) and PyTorch. Looking forward, she said she will be "taking some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure." Pineau initially joined Meta as a researcher in May 2017 and was promoted to vice president in March 2023. As head of AI, she has overseen the development of Meta's flagship foundation model, Llama, which has become a core component of the firm's AI strategy. Prior to that, Nick Clegg stepped down as president of global affairs in January. Neither Pineau nor Neary suggested they had been forced out, positioning their decision to leave against the backdrop of more than a decade each at Meta. On the other hand, Clegg's replacement by Joel Kaplan was widely viewed as a strategic move by Meta that could help it curry favor with the Trump administration. Increasing Compensation for Top Tech Talent Besides politics and natural employee attrition, there may be another factor behind Meta's recent executive exits: a competitive labor market for top technology leaders. A recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing reveals plans to dramatically increase the bonuses it pays its executives in 2025. From just 75% of their base salaries, executive bonuses could rise to 200%, a move Meta said was needed to bring its compensation packages in line with those offered by industry peers. Besides its Big Tech rivals, Meta must also compete with the allure of entrepreneurialism. In the realm of AI especially, a number of former Meta employees have opted to found their own startups in recent years.

Meta's AI research chief to depart amid aggressive competition in AI - Bloomberg By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Joelle Pineau, the vice president leading Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META).'s Fundamental AI Research group (FAIR), is set to leave the company. Pineau, who has been with Meta for eight years and led the FAIR team since early 2023, made the announcement internally on Tuesday, according to a report from Bloomberg. Her departure comes at a time when Meta is actively seeking to expand and compete in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Pineau's team has been responsible for overseeing Meta's AI research efforts, which include projects ranging from voice translation and image-recognition technology to the development of the company's open-source large language model, Llama. The group also investigates the development of what Meta refers to as "advanced machine intelligence," essentially aiming to achieve human-level intelligence for machines. Pineau, who is also a computer science professor at McGill University in Montreal, plans to stay with the company until May before taking some time to "observe and reflect." In her note to colleagues, she wrote, "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work." The departure of Pineau could potentially complicate Meta's efforts to compete with AI-focused rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk's xAI. Despite Pineau's impending departure, Meta remains dedicated to AI research, and its plans have not been altered, a spokesperson stated.

Meta Platforms Head of AI Research to Resign Amid Computing Push

Joelle Pineau, Meta Platforms' head of artificial intelligence research, said she would step down effective May 30, creating an executive vacancy as the company aggressively invests and competes in the booming sector. "After nearly 8 years at Meta, time has come to say farewell," Pineau, who helms the company's Fundamental AI Research group, said Tuesday. "This has been the professional experience of a lifetime!" Meta's FAIR group oversees AI research. Since its launch in 2013, the group has worked on technologies ranging from voice translation to image recognition, as well as Meta's open-source large-language model, called Llama. Pineau, who additionally works as a professor at McGill University in Montreal, said she plans to take some time off after stepping down from her role at Meta, "before jumping into a new adventure." "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," she said. Earlier this year, Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the Menlo Park, Calif., company would increase capital spending by about 70% in 2025, to between $60 billion and $65 million. The majority of this spending is expected to support the company's AI ambitions, as it works to build out a data center in Louisiana that will bring one gigawatt of computing power online. Meta is one of several tech giants that has projected tens of billions of dollars in increased investment this year.

Meta's head of AI research stepping down

MENLO PARK, Calif (AP) -- The head of Meta's artificial intelligence research division said she plans to step down, vacating a high-profile position at a time of intense competition in the development of AI technology. Joelle Pineau, Meta's vice president for AI research, said Tuesday she is leaving at the end of May after eight years with the company. "Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work," she wrote in a social media post. Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the move. Pineau didn't announce a replacement. Based in Montreal, where she is also a computer science professor at McGill University, Pineau has been the face of Meta's "open-source" approach to building AI systems, such as its flagship large language model called Llama, in which core components are publicly released for others to use or modify. Her announcement comes ahead of the company's debut of a new LlamaCon AI conference on April 29.