According to Gizmodo, Meta’s chief artificial intelligence scientist Yann LeCun is leaving the company in the coming months to launch his own startup. The Turing Award winner, considered one of the leading figures in modern AI, is already in early funding talks for his new venture. This departure follows Meta’s formation of Meta Superintelligence Labs earlier this year, where the company spent billions to poach talent from OpenAI and Apple. The news comes after Meta split its superintelligence division into four smaller groups in August and cut roughly 600 positions from its AI team last month. Meanwhile, Meta’s AI products have faced delays, poor performance, and multiple controversies including chatbots engaging with minors and a tragic incident where a cognitively impaired man died while trying to meet an AI chatbot.
The AI Exodus Deepens
This isn’t just another executive departure. LeCun is basically the face of AI research at Meta – a Turing Award winner who’s been with the company for years. And he’s not alone in heading for the exits. Remember those three AI researchers who resigned after less than a month? That was just the beginning. Now we’re seeing the top brass leaving too.
Here’s the thing: when your chief AI scientist decides he’d rather build his own startup than stick around for your “superintelligence” push, that tells you something about the internal culture. The reporting structure changes probably didn’t help – going from reporting to Meta’s chief product officer to answering to a 28-year-old from Scale AI? That’s a tough pill to swallow for someone of LeCun’s stature.
Zuckerberg’s Desperate AI Play
Mark Zuckerberg admitted Meta was behind in AI, and his response was classic Zuck: throw billions at the problem. But money can’t buy you love, and apparently it can’t buy you a functioning AI division either. They spent all that cash poaching talent, only to see people leave almost immediately.
And what do they have to show for it? Delayed products, underperforming chatbots, and a string of controversies that would make any PR team sweat. We’re talking about AI that impersonates mental health professionals, engages in “sensual” chats with minors, and even contributed to someone’s death. That’s not just bad PR – that’s potentially catastrophic.
A Pattern of Failed Ambition
Does this sound familiar? It should. Meta’s last big moonshot was the metaverse, and we all know how that turned out. Now they’re chasing AI superintelligence with the same playbook: massive spending, rapid hiring, and grand promises. But the execution? Not so grand.
They reorganized the superintelligence team after just two months. They’re cutting hundreds of positions. Top talent is fleeing. When even your chief AI scientist wants out, maybe the problem isn’t the people – maybe it’s the vision itself.
What Comes Next?
So where does this leave Meta? They’re still spending “eye-watering figures” on AI, but dedication and cash don’t guarantee success. In fact, they might be making the same mistakes they made with the metaverse: overpromising and underdelivering.
The real question is: can any company, even one with Meta’s resources, buy its way to AI leadership? Or does true innovation require something that money can’t buy – like stable leadership, clear vision, and a culture that retains top talent? Looking at Meta’s track record lately, I’m not optimistic.
