Meta hires key OpenAI researcher to work on AI reasoning models...
Meta has brought on board Trapit Bansal, a prominent OpenAI researcher, to contribute to its AI reasoning models within the company’s new AI superintelligence division, according to a source familiar with the situation as reported by TechCrunch.
Kayla Wood, the spokesperson for OpenAI, has confirmed Bansal's departure from the organization. According to Bansal's LinkedIn profile, he officially left OpenAI in June.
Contributions at OpenAI
Having been with OpenAI since 2022, Bansal played a crucial role in initiating the company's work on reinforcement learning in collaboration with co-founder Ilya Sutskever. He is recognized as a foundational contributor to OpenAI's initial AI reasoning model, o1.
Impact at Meta
Bansal's addition is expected to significantly enhance Meta's AI superintelligence lab, which already includes notable figures like former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. The team is also looking to bring in former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and Safe Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Gross. With Bansal onboard, Meta aims to develop a cutting-edge AI reasoning model to compete with leading technologies in the industry, such as OpenAI's o3 and DeepSeek's R1.
Bansal's addition is expected to significantly strengthen Meta's AI reasoning capabilities.
As of now, Meta has not publicly released an AI reasoning model, making Bansal's expertise a valuable asset in this domain.
Expanding the Team
Mark Zuckerberg has been actively recruiting top talent for Meta's AI division, offering lucrative compensation packages to attract top researchers. Other former OpenAI researchers, including Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai, have recently joined Meta's AI superintelligence team as well.
Future Prospects
AI reasoning models are becoming increasingly crucial for Meta's AI superintelligence team to excel. With advancements in this area by organizations like OpenAI and Google, Meta is under pressure to develop competitive AI models to drive its products forward.
By assembling a team of experts including Bansal, Meta aims to stay at the forefront of the AI landscape and deliver innovative solutions to its users.
Stay tuned as OpenAI plans to unveil an open AI reasoning model in the near future, intensifying the competition in the AI space.
