Meta has unveiled the names of 44 individuals selected for its newly formed Superintelligence Team, a high-profile initiative aimed at advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Meta assembled the team through an aggressive global recruitment strategy.
It includes only two Indian-origin researchers—Trapit Bansal and Hammad Syed—underscoring the team’s international scope and the competitive nature of its AI talent acquisition.
Strategic Vision Behind Meta’s Superintelligence Team
The Superintelligence Team is part of Meta’s broader effort to consolidate its AI capabilities under the newly established Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL).
Announced in July 2025, MSL brings together Meta’s foundation model teams, product divisions, and its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) group.
The lab is co-led by Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI, and Nat Friedman, ex-GitHub chief and prominent AI investor.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has positioned this initiative as central to the company’s long-term vision, pledging substantial investments—including hundreds of billions of dollars—to build AI data centers and infrastructure that support the development of superintelligent systems.
Composition and Origins of Superintelligence Team at Meta
The 44-member team reflects Meta’s aggressive recruitment strategy, which reportedly includes compensation packages ranging from $10 million to $100 million per year.
According to social media disclosures, 50% of the hires are of Chinese origin, with 75% holding PhDs and 70% identified as researchers.
The team draws heavily from leading AI institutions: 40% from OpenAI, 20% from Google DeepMind, and 15% from Scale AI.
The Two Indian-Origin Researchers
Among the 44 members, Trapit Bansal and Hammad Syed are the only Indian-origin professionals selected for the team4.
- Trapit Bansal is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research spans meta-learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. Trapit has previously worked at OpenAI, Microsoft Research, Google Research, and Facebook. His career spans multiple top-tier AI institutions, making him one of the few researchers with such broad experience.
- Hammad Syed joined Meta following the acquisition of his voice AI startup, PlayAI, which he co-founded in 2021. The company specializes in text-to-speech models and voice agents across more than 30 languages. Hammad studied at Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology in Bangalore and has a background in synthetic media and entrepreneurship.
Bloomberg reports that internal memos confirm the full absorption of PlayAI’s team into Meta’s Superintelligence division.
This move strengthens Meta’s capabilities in voice and speech technologies.
Meta Recruitment Tactics and Industry Impact
Meta’s recruitment drive has included high-profile poaching from competitors.
Notably, Ruoming Pang, former head of Apple’s AI models team, was reportedly hired with a compensation package exceeding $200 million.
His close colleagues, Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, have also joined Meta’s team in recent weeks.
Tech giants are locked in increasingly fierce competition to acquire top AI talent.
This urgency is fueled by rapid advancements in generative and foundational models across the industry.
Meta’s strategy appears focused not only on building internal capabilities but also on neutralizing rival progress by absorbing key personnel.
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