Meta Appoints ChatGPT Co-Creator Shengjia Zhao as Chief Scientist of Superintelligence Lab

In a bold move to bolster its artificial intelligence capabilities, Meta has appointed Shengjia Zhao, co-creator of ChatGPT and GPT-4, as the Chief Scientist of its newly established Superintelligence Lab.

 

Shengjia Zhao played a pivotal role at OpenAI, contributing to the development of foundational models such as ChatGPT and GPT-4. His expertise in AI reasoning models and synthetic data pipelines has been widely recognized in the industry.

 

At Meta, Zhao will collaborate directly with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI. Together, they aim to steer the research agenda of the Superintelligence Lab towards groundbreaking advancements in AI.

 

The Meta Superintelligence Lab (MSL), launched in June 2025, operates independently from Meta's original AI research division, FAIR. MSL's mission focuses on developing foundation models, enhancing reasoning capabilities, achieving autonomy, and ensuring scalability. A significant aspect of this initiative is the commitment to open-source releases under the "personal superintelligence" mission.

 

To accelerate its AI endeavors, Meta has been actively recruiting top talent from leading AI organizations, including OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepMind, Safe Superintelligence, and Apple. Notably, the company has attracted several key members from OpenAI's Zurich office, underscoring its aggressive approach to talent acquisition.

 

However, this aggressive recruitment strategy has not been without criticism. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, described Meta's approach as a "pay-for-talent strategy," expressing concerns over the lack of a shared mission focus. Similarly, Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind, echoed skepticism regarding Meta's methods.

 

While OpenAI continues to prioritize closed models and incremental improvements, Meta's establishment of an open-source superintelligence lab, led by individuals instrumental in creating ChatGPT, signifies a direct challenge to OpenAI's dominance in the AI sector.

 

By bringing on board a key figure behind its competitor's breakthrough product and providing him with substantial resources, Meta is not merely expanding its team—it's making a clear statement in the ongoing AI race.

 

The competition in artificial intelligence has just intensified, promising a future rich with innovation and rapid advancements.