Meta Platforms is forming a new artificial intelligence lab with the help of Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally accelerates efforts to build "superintelligence"-an AI system capable of surpassing human cognition, according to reports from The New York Times and Bloomberg.
The company is in advanced discussions to invest more than $10 billion in Wang's startup, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Wang, 28, is expected to help lead the new research group, which will operate separately from Meta's existing AI teams. Scale AI declined to comment, and Meta did not respond to requests from CNBC or Bloomberg.
Zuckerberg's new initiative is reportedly fueled by frustration with the performance of Meta's flagship Llama 4 language model. Sources told Bloomberg the CEO has taken the reins directly, hosting private meetings with AI researchers at his homes in Lake Tahoe and Palo Alto. He has also ordered a redesign of Meta's Menlo Park headquarters to relocate the new AI team closer to his office.
According to Bloomberg, Zuckerberg plans to hire approximately 50 researchers and engineers for the new project. The team's focus will be on long-term development of "superintelligence," which represents the next level of AI advancement beyond artificial general intelligence (AGI), a theoretical capability that matches or exceeds the full range of human intelligence.
Meta has already committed as much as $65 billion in capital expenditures this year, much of it toward AI infrastructure. The company's Llama model, an open-source rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT, has gained traction in developer communities but lags in mainstream adoption.
Last month, Meta announced its Meta AI assistant had reached one billion monthly active users across its platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. In February, CNBC reported that Meta was preparing to launch a standalone AI chatbot app and test a paid subscription model similar to those used by rivals.
Zuckerberg's push to build superintelligence comes as Big Tech ramps up spending on foundational AI research. OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, continues to lead the field with ChatGPT and its enterprise offerings. Google's DeepMind and Gemini platforms, Apple's newly announced AI features, and Elon Musk's xAI all represent stiff competition. Anthropic, another major AI startup, has also attracted substantial investment.
