Meta is looking to build an AI lab to develop ‘superintelligence’ - a computer brain that works better than a human

Mark Zuckerberg is hiring a team of top AI researchers to develop a Meta “superintelligence” research lab with machines capable of outperforming the human brain, according to reports.

Meta is spending billions on AI projects in 2025, with “superintelligence” considered a step up from what AI is currently capable of, experts told The New York Times.

Meta recently hired Alexandr Wang, 28, the founder and chief executive of Scale AI, to join the lab, the newspaper reported on Tuesday. The company is also planning to hire other Scale AI employees as part of a deal that would see Meta invest billions into Scale AI.

Some researchers from top AI companies have already agreed to join Meta after being offered seven to nine-figure compensation packages. The company is reportedly planning to unveil the lab soon, according to the outlet.

Zuckerberg has personally met with experts in the field at his homes in Lake Tahoe and Palo Alto, California, reported Bloomberg.

Meta has already announced plans to invest around $60bn to $65bn in AI infrastructure and related projects in 2025. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, has said he wants to make the company an AI powerhouse and has expanded the technology across social media platforms.

The company recently released a Meta AI app and Ray-Ban AI sunglasses that retail for $230. About one billion people use Meta AI every month.

Zuckerberg, 41, called AI “potentially one of the most important innovations in history” in February. “This year is going to set the course for the future.”

Zuckerberg created Meta’s first AI lab in 2013. Yann LeCun, the company’s chief AI scientist, has been overseeing Meta’s AI innovation since then.

There are few details about how Meta’s superintelligence would operate.

Other tech giants are similarly working to come out on top with AI infrastructure. Amazon and Microsoft are also racing to develop their AI infrastructure. On Monday, Amazon announced it would be investing $20bn in Pennsylvania to expand cloud computing infrastructure and advance AI innovation.

Meanwhile, Microsoft will invest $80bn in AI infrastructure during its 2025 fiscal year.

Similarly, Google is working to hire employees from AI start-ups and license their technology. The company last year agreed to pay $3bn to hire technologists and license technology from Character AI, a start-up that builds chatbots for personal conversations, the newspaper reported.