Meta hires former OpenAI top talent amid AGI push

Tech company Meta has hired Trapit Bansal, a former key researcher at artificial intelligence company OpenAI, who was central to developing the firm's o1 reasoning AI model.

Bansal is the latest ex-OpenAI researcher to join the Meta team, following the addition of Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai, according to TechCrunch.

The hires are part of Meta's push to expand its AI operations and overhaul the capabilities of its reasoning models by training its AI on real-world scenarios to cultivate intelligence. Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun previously said:

“There are four essential characteristics of intelligent behavior that every animal, or relatively smart animal, can do, and certainly humans: understanding the physical world, having persistent memory, being able to reason, and being able to plan complex actions — particularly planning hierarchically.”

Meta's AI development came into sharper focus earlier this year, as advancements in artificial intelligence became a top priority for governments around the world seeking to win the international AI race.

Meta plans on using video data and robotics to better train AI using real-world scenarios. Source: MetaRelated: OpenAI cuts ties with Scale AI amid data labeler’s new Meta deal — Report

Meta leans heavily into AI with stock acquisitions, energy deals, and defense partnerships

In June, Meta acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI, a data labeling company that provides services to AI platforms, valued at nearly $15 billion.

As part of the purchase, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang will join Meta to collaborate on further AI development.

The Facebook parent company also signed a 20-year nuclear energy deal with electricity provider Constellation Energy to receive 1.1 gigawatts of power to fuel its AI data centers and infrastructure.

According to a June 3 announcement, the energy will be sourced from Constellation's Clinton Clean Energy Center in the US state of Illinois, with delivery starting in 2027.

Anduril, a defense contractor specializing in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, partnered with Meta in May to develop AI-powered augmented reality headsets for the United States military.

The headset will integrate Anduril's Lattice platform, an AI-powered information system that organizes tactical battlefield data from various sensors and weapons platforms into a comprehensive information source for soldiers, the defense company said in a May 29 announcement.

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