Mark Zuckerberg is personally recruiting a specialized team of approximately 50 AI experts to spearhead Meta's push toward artificial general intelligence (AGI), according to Bloomberg reports. The Meta CEO has entered what insiders describe as "founder mode," conducting recruitment meetings at his Lake Tahoe and Palo Alto residences over recent weeks.
The secretive superintelligence group represents Zuckerberg's response to internal frustrations with Meta's AI progress, particularly following disappointment with Llama 4's performance in April.
The latest language model failed to meet Zuckerberg's ambitious goal of achieving the best AI offering by year-end, prompting concerns from both internal leadership and external developers about over-promising and under-delivering.
Meta has subsequently delayed the release of "Behemoth," its most advanced model yet, after leadership questioned whether it is sufficiently advanced beyond previous iterations. These setbacks motivated Zuckerberg's hands-on approach to talent acquisition, including the creation of a WhatsApp group called "Recruiting Party" among senior leaders for around-the-clock recruitment discussions.
The initiative coincides with Meta's planned multi-billion dollar investment in Scale AI, the largest external investment in the company's history. Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang is expected to join the superintelligence team following the deal's completion.
Zuckerberg has rearranged office layouts at Meta's Menlo Park headquarters to position new team members near his workspace, demonstrating his commitment to direct oversight. During recruitment pitches, he emphasizes Meta's financial advantage, arguing that the company's robust advertising revenue can fund the tens of billions required for AI competition without external fundraising.
The CEO envisions integrating AGI capabilities across Meta's product ecosystem, from social media platforms to AI-powered Ray-Ban glasses and chatbot services. This strategic pivot positions Meta to compete directly with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic in the race toward artificial general intelligence.