Meta is reportedly negotiating to bring on board prominent AI investors Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross to spearhead its artificial intelligence initiatives.
As part of the deal, the company is considering a partial buyout of their venture capital fund, NFDG, valued at over $1 billion, which holds stakes in leading AI startups.
Daniel Gross is set to leave Safe Superintelligence, a company he co-founded with former OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever. This startup, which has attracted several billion dollars in investments at a valuation in the tens of billions without a public product, has drawn attention in the AI community. At Meta, Gross will focus on AI product development, while Friedman will take on broader responsibilities. Both will report to Alexandr Wang, the recently hired CEO of Scale AI, whose $14.3 billion deal with Meta brought him on board.
Notably, Zuckerberg initially approached Friedman last year to lead Meta’s entire AI division, but Friedman declined and instead recommended Wang. Now, Friedman has agreed to join, reporting to Wang, who is 20 years his junior — a dynamic that raises eyebrows in industry circles.
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Meta’s aggressive AI hiring strategy has sparked criticism from competitors. OpenAI’s Sam Altman recently remarked that Meta is offering “massive $100 million signing bonuses,” warning that such tactics “won’t foster a strong corporate culture,” reflecting the intensifying talent war in the AI sector.
