Meta poaches 2 Apple AI researchers for Superintelligence Labs team

Meta Platforms has hired two Apple AI researchers, Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, for its Superintelligence Labs team, according to Bloomberg. The recruitment follows Meta’s recent poaching of Apple’s AI chief, signaling an intensified talent war between the tech giants as they compete for top artificial intelligence expertise.

What you should know: The hirings represent Meta’s continued efforts to strengthen its AI capabilities by targeting Apple’s research talent.

• Mark Lee has already started at Meta after leaving Apple in recent days, while Tom Gunter will begin work in the near future.
• Both researchers will join Meta’s Superintelligence Labs team, which focuses on advanced AI development.

The big picture: This move follows a pattern of Meta aggressively recruiting AI talent from competitors, particularly Apple, as the company doubles down on its AI ambitions.

• The hiring comes after Meta previously recruited Apple’s AI chief, suggesting a coordinated effort to build its AI research capabilities.
• The talent acquisition reflects the broader competition among tech companies to secure top AI researchers as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly central to their business strategies.

Why this matters: The recruitment highlights the intense competition for AI talent as major tech companies race to develop advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.

• Meta’s targeted hiring from Apple’s AI team could potentially accelerate its own AI research and development efforts.
• The move underscores how AI expertise has become a critical competitive advantage, prompting companies to actively poach researchers from rivals.