Meta appoints Shengjia Zhao, co-creator of ChatGPT, as Chief Scientist of AI Superior Intelligence department
Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) is making significant strides in the field of advanced AI research, with a particular focus on creating safe, interpretable, and aligned superintelligent AI systems.
The appointment of Shengjia Zhao as the Chief Scientist and co-founder of MSL marks a pivotal moment for the lab. Zhao, known for his groundbreaking contributions to OpenAI's projects like ChatGPT and GPT-4, has also played a key role in the development of the first AI reasoning model, o1.
Now working under Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and unit head Alexandr Wang (former Scale AI CEO), Zhao leads MSL's research agenda with a unique blend of technical innovation and ethical considerations. His expertise in areas such as model interpretability, bias control, and foundational AI safety significantly influence MSL's research culture and priorities.
The recent expansion of MSL's team includes top researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, Apple, Safe Superintelligence, Meta's own FAIR and generative AI labs, and more. This concerted effort to build an interdisciplinary team is a clear indication of Meta's ambition to tackle superintelligence challenges head-on.
In addition to this, Meta has increased its investment in cloud computing infrastructure to aid MSL's AI model creation. By 2026, the lab will have access to Meta's 1 gigawatt cloud computing cluster, Prometheus, located in Ohio—a cluster large enough to power more than 750,000 homes.
Notable additions to MSL's team include three other influential OpenAI researchers—Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren—as well as Trapit Bansal, another OpenAI researcher who collaborated with Zhao on AI reasoning models.
Meta's commitment to AI research is evident in its substantial investment plans. The tech giant has announced that it will invest "hundreds of billions of dollars" into AI compute infrastructure, a move that should enable MSL to conduct the massive training runs required to create competitive frontier AI models.
With Shengjia Zhao at the helm, MSL is poised to push the boundaries of AI capability while prioritising scalable models, robust safety frameworks, interpretability, and alignment research, positioning itself as a competitive and ethically conscious player in the race for next-generation AI development.
References: - TechCrunch, "Meta names Shengjia Zhao as chief scientist of AI superintelligence unit," July 25, 2025. - Times of India, "Mark Zuckerberg appoints Shengjia Zhao, co-creator of ChatGPT, as chief scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs," July 29, 2025. - Business Insider, "Yann LeCun clarifies role after Meta hires another chief scientist," July 26, 2025. - Times of India, "Shengjia Zhao now leading Meta's Superintelligence Lab," July 31, 2025.
- Shengjia Zhao, the newly appointed Chief Scientist at Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), has a notable background in artificial-intelligence, particularly his contributions to OpenAI's projects like ChatGPT and GPT-4.
- With the utilization of Meta's massive 1 gigawatt cloud computing cluster, Prometheus, and a significant investment in AI compute infrastructure, MSL is positioned to utilize advanced technology to create safe, interpretable, and aligned superintelligent AI systems, as stated in their research agenda.
