Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Reportedly Looking To Hire Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman And Investor Daniel Gross As Part Of Aggressive AI Expansion Strategy

Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta Platforms, Inc. META is reportedly looking to bring high-profile AI talent in-house as it doubles down on its efforts to lead the next wave of artificial intelligence innovation.

What Happened: Meta is in discussions to hire Nat Friedman, former CEO of GitHub, to support its artificial intelligence efforts, reported Reuters (via The Information).

The company is also reportedly in talks with Daniel Gross, Friedman's partner at investment fund NFDG, about a potential AI-related role.

Meta is also considering a partial acquisition of NFDG, the report said. The move would further integrate top-tier AI talent and resources into the company's growing portfolio.

Also Read: Meta Hits 1 Billion Monthly AI Users, Eyes Future With Subscriptions

Friedman currently serves on Meta's Advisory Group, an external council that advises the company on technology and product development.

Why It's Important: Earlier this week, during a podcast, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that Meta offered $100 million compensation packages to lure top AI talent from his company and Google DeepMind.

Previously, it was also reported that Meta is struggling with a wave of departures from its AI division, as more employees head to competitors such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Meanwhile, Meta has made a strategic minority investment in Scale AI, pushing the startup's valuation beyond $29 billion. As part of the deal, Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang will join Meta to assist with its AI initiatives while continuing to serve on Scale's board.

Price Action: Meta shares are up 16.11% year-to-date. On Wednesday, the stock dipped 0.21% during regular trading and edged down another 0.062% after hours, as per Benzinga Pro.

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show META maintaining an upward trajectory across short, medium and long-term timeframes. Additional performance data is available here.