In a significant move reflecting the intensifying race for AI talent, Meta has onboarded Trapit Bansal, an Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur alumnus and seasoned AI researcher, to its newly formed Superintelligence Lab. The move is part of Meta’s broader strategy to accelerate progress in artificial general intelligence (AGI) and superintelligence.
He shared his new appointment on X, “Thrilled to be joining Meta! Superintelligence is now in sight.”
In 2012, he completed his integrated degree of Bachelor’s and Master’s in Science. He is also an alumnus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he further pursued a PhD. His early research internships spanned prestigious institutions like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.
Sources suggest that Meta’s offer to Bansal includes a compensation package rumoured to be as high as ₹800 crore ($100 million), although this remains unconfirmed by the company. The recruitment comes amidst a wave of departures from OpenAI, with several high-profile researchers, including Lucas Beyer, Jack Rae, and Xiaohua Zhai, reportedly moving to rival firms.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman earlier commented on Meta’s offering and claimed that their top researchers have turned down the offers.
