Meta is reportedly preparing to launch a new artificial intelligence research lab specifically dedicated to the pursuit of "superintelligence." This ambitious goal refers to a hypothetical AI system with capabilities far exceeding those of the human brain. The initiative is seen as a strategic move by the tech giant to maintain its competitiveness in the rapidly evolving AI technology race, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.

A key figure associated with this new lab is Alexandr Wang, the 28-year-old founder and CEO of AI startup Scale AI, whom Meta has reportedly tapped to join. Furthermore, Meta is said to be in discussions to invest billions of dollars into Scale AI. Such a deal could also involve bringing other employees from Scale AI to Meta, significantly bolstering the new lab's talent pool.

Beyond Scale AI, Meta is actively recruiting top AI talent from other leading organizations. The company has reportedly offered substantial compensation packages, ranging from seven to nine figures, to entice dozens of researchers from prominent AI companies like OpenAI and Google. Several of these targeted individuals have reportedly agreed to join Meta's new venture.

The establishment of this superintelligence lab is part of a larger reorganization of Meta's overall AI efforts. This restructuring comes as Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has reportedly faced internal challenges, including management struggles related to AI strategy, employee attrition, and some product releases that did not meet expectations, according to some sources.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, is spearheading this push, investing billions of dollars with the aim of transforming his company into an AI powerhouse. The urgency has intensified across the tech industry since OpenAI's release of the ChatGPT chatbot in 2022, which triggered a race to develop increasingly powerful AI systems. Zuckerberg has been actively pushing for the integration of AI across all of Meta's products, including its smart glasses and the recently launched Meta AI application.

The drive to lead in AI is crucial for major technology companies, including Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, as artificial intelligence is widely considered to be the future of the industry. These tech giants have been pouring substantial funds into AI startups and their own internal research and development labs to secure an edge.

The scale of investment is significant across the board. For instance, Microsoft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI, while Amazon has committed $8 billion to the AI startup Anthropic. These industry behemoths are also spending billions to acquire talent from high-profile startups and to license their innovative technologies. As an example, Google reportedly agreed to a $3 billion deal to license technology and hire technologists and executives from Character.AI, a startup focused on building chatbots for personal conversations.

Highlighting the strategic importance of AI, Mark Zuckerberg (41) stated in February 2025 that AI is "potentially one of the most important innovations in history." He further emphasized the critical nature of the current period, adding, "This year is going to set the course for the future."

The concept of "superintelligence" itself is regarded by leading AI researchers as a futuristic and highly ambitious goal. Many in the field, including organizations like OpenAI and Google, have stated their more immediate objective is to achieve "artificial general intelligence" (AGI). AGI is typically defined as a machine that possesses the ability to understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks at a level comparable to the human brain, though a clear path to AGI remains elusive. Superintelligence, if successfully developed, would represent a leap even beyond AGI in terms of raw power and capability.

Meta's engagement with artificial intelligence is not new; the company has been investing in the field for over a decade. Mark Zuckerberg established Meta's first dedicated AI research lab back in 2013. This move came after Meta was outbid by Google in an attempt to acquire DeepMind, a pioneering AI startup that has since become the cornerstone of Google's extensive AI efforts.