Mark Zuckerberg’s AI gambit: Superintelligence, nine-figure salaries, and a team of 50
For the right talent, the pay is reportedly extraordinary—possibly reaching nine figures, positioning it as one of the most lucrative AI gigs in the world.
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is going full throttle on artificial intelligence—and he’s taking the hiring process into his own hands. According to a Bloomberg report, Zuckerberg is personally building a new elite AI team with a bold mission: to develop “superintelligence,” AI systems that could eventually surpass human reasoning.
And for the right talent, the pay is reportedly extraordinary—possibly reaching nine figures, positioning it as one of the most lucrative and highest paid AI jobs in the world.
The urgency behind this new push stems from Zuckerberg’s dissatisfaction with Meta’s AI progress so far, particularly the development of Llama 4, the company’s latest large language model. While Meta has made strides in deploying AI across its ecosystem—from Facebook and WhatsApp to Ray-Ban smart glasses—it continues to trail rivals like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google in the race for true AI dominance.
Zuckerberg has responded by going hands-on. He’s held direct meetings with top AI researchers at his homes in California and has reorganized Meta’s Menlo Park headquarters to house the new AI unit just steps from his own office. He plans to build a 50-member team of world-class AI researchers and engineers to drive Meta’s superintelligence ambitions forward.
One major figure reportedly involved is Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, a data labeling firm that may receive billions in investment from Meta to accelerate its AI efforts.
Funding for the initiative will come from Meta’s robust advertising business, insiders say, giving Zuckerberg the financial firepower to compete in what’s become a global AI arms race.
With companies like Google DeepMind, Apple, Microsoft, and Elon Musk’s xAI also gunning for breakthroughs in artificial general intelligence (AGI), Zuckerberg is betting Meta can distinguish itself by continuing to open-source its Llama models—similar to what Android did for mobile. It’s a strategic move designed to win developer mindshare and encourage widespread adoption.
Whether Meta’s all-in gamble pays off remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Zuckerberg wants Meta not just in the AI race—but at the front of it.
