Former OpenAI Leader Joins Meta as Chief Scientist to Boost AI Ambitions

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, announced on Friday that Shengjia Zhao, who played a key role in developing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has taken on the position of chief scientist at Meta Superintelligence Labs.

Taking to Threads, Zuckerberg highlighted Zhao’s achievements, noting that he has “already pioneered several breakthroughs including a new scaling paradigm and distinguished himself as a leader in the field. I’m looking forward to working closely with him to advance his scientific vision.”

We're excited to have @shengjia_zhao at the helm as Chief Scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs. Big things are coming! 🚀

See Mark's post: https://t.co/SL7h4sGfwx pic.twitter.com/DRnpqBe1wD

— AI at Meta (@AIatMeta) July 25, 2025

In his new role, Zhao will report directly to both Zuckerberg and Alexandr Wang, who recently transitioned from leading Scale AI to serving as Meta’s chief AI officer.

The appointment comes as Zuckerberg has been aggressively expanding Meta’s artificial intelligence capabilities over the past several weeks, including a $14 billion investment in Scale AI. The company launched Meta Superintelligence Labs in June with the goal of assembling top-tier researchers and engineering talent.

According to Zuckerberg’s June announcement, Zhao played a crucial role in developing ChatGPT and made substantial contributions to GPT-4’s creation, including its more efficient versions 4.1 and o3. Prior to joining Meta, he led synthetic data efforts at OpenAI.

While Zhao was mentioned among other new hires in the June announcement, CNBC reports that Zuckerberg clarified on Friday that Zhao actually helped establish the lab and “has been our lead scientist from day one.”

The Meta Superintelligence Labs will focus on developing fundamental AI frameworks, including enhancements to the open-source Llama model family, while also pursuing various product development and research initiatives.

In July, Zuckerberg announced Meta’s plans to invest “hundreds of billions of dollars” in AI infrastructure development, expressing enthusiasm that “the next few years are going to be very exciting!”

The aggressive recruitment push comes after developers showed lukewarm reception to the Llama 4 models launched in April, leading to a strategic shift aimed at better competing with industry leaders like OpenAI and Google.

During a recent appearance on “Lenny’s Podcast,” Anthropic cofounder Benjamin Mann discussed how his company has resisted Meta’s attractive compensation packages. He stressed that Anthropic’s team remains motivated by the company’s mission. “It’s not a hard choice,” Mann stated, noting that while competitors have lost talent to lucrative offers, Anthropic has successfully retained its key personnel.

Mann acknowledged that substantial offers might make sense depending on personal situations. His remarks highlight the intense competition for AI talent across major technology companies, with reports suggesting signing bonuses reaching up to $100 million. “I’m pretty sure it’s real,” Mann confirmed.

Regardless of whether Zuckerberg has extended significant offers to OpenAI staff, the company has experienced notable departures in recent years, with approximately half of its safety team leaving. Former OpenAI researcher Daniel Kokotajlo shared with Fortune last year that “people who are primarily focused on thinking about AGI safety and preparedness are being increasingly marginalized.”