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Meet the People Zuck Hired for His AI Superintelligence Team

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg just hired his dream team of AI avengers, raising the stakes in the all-out battle between Big Tech companies for talent.

On Monday, Zuckerberg announced the launch of Meta Superintelligence Labs, a group of star researchers that Meta poached from its AI competitors and has tasked with building a “personal superintelligence for everyone.”

Interest in the new unit surged after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claimed that Meta is offering recruits $100 million signing bonuses. But the team also offers a glimpse into what Meta is up to on AI, which it has mostly kept under wraps so far.

Meta is clearly interested in using multimodal AI, which means using AI to generate images, video, and speech. It has hired multiple people with expertise in this domain.

The new hires also show Meta is keeping very close tabs on OpenAI, since most of them worked on training OpenAI’s latest models. (Meta wouldn’t be the only Big Tech firm obsessed with beating ChatGPT.)

Meta has said it will disclose other hires later, so it’s still early. Regardless, the hiring blitz has commanded Silicon Valley’s attention. Whatever form it takes, Meta’s new team stands to shape whoever controls the future of AI.

Meta didn’t comment for this article.

Leaders

Alexandr Wang will lead the team as its Chief AI Officer, according to Zuckerberg’s memo. At only 28, Wang has already cofounded and led Scale AI, a startup that helps Big Tech train their latest AI models. Meta recently invested $14 billion into Scale as part of a deal to hire Wang. Wang has a strong interest in AI progress: while he was at Scale, for example, the startup helped create an especially difficult test for AI systems called Humanity’s Last Exam.

Nat Friedman will co-lead Meta’s lab with Wang, Zuck’s memo says. Friedman is best-known as the former CEO of Github and as an AI investor who has backed startups like Stripe and Perplexity. Friedman has also served on Meta’s AI advisory group since May 2024. He’s dabbled in other projects, too, like funding a program to decode an ancient Roman scroll charred by the Pompeii eruption.

Researchers and others

Trapid Bansal is a former research scientist at OpenAI, where he co-created the company’s leading o-series of AI models, Meta’s announcement says. OpenAI’s o3 model is touted by OpenAI as its most powerful “reasoning” model. Reasoning is a trend that’s taken over AI this past year, and involves AI chatbots fleshing out their ‘thoughts’ before answering a question.

Jiahui Yu used to lead OpenAI’s perception team, which works on multimodal AI, and co-led Gemini’s multimodal efforts when he worked at Google, according to his personal website. He’s also helped build some of OpenAI’s latest models, Meta says.

Shuchao Bi also worked on multimodal AI at OpenAI, co-creating GPT-4o’s voice mode. He also co-created YouTube shorts when he worked at Google, according to a Columbia University profile page.

Huiwen Chang is an expert in multimodal AI who helped launch image generation for OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, Meta says. Prior to that, she used to work for Google and Adobe, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Ji Lin is a former OpenAI research scientist who specializes in multimodal and reasoning models, his personal website says. He’s also a co-creator of several of OpenAI’s latest AI models, Meta says.

Hongyu Ren also worked at OpenAI, where he led a team focused on post-training AI models. “Post-training” means improving an AI model’s performance after the model itself has already been created.

Shengjia Zhao is a co-creator of ChatGPT and previously led synthetic data at OpenAI, Meta says. Synthetic data means using AI-generated data to make AI models smarter — another big AI trend as AI labs run out of materials to train on.

Johan Schalkwyk worked as a machine learning lead at Sesame, a startup building software and hardware that can chat naturally with people. Schalkwyk previously worked at Google on speech-related technologies, including leading a ‘moonshot’ effort to expand Google’s support to 1,000 languages, according to his LinkedIn page.

Pei Sun worked for Google creating the most recent generations of AI models for Google’s self-driving car subsidiary Waymo. Sun also worked on post-training and reasoning efforts for Gemini, Google’s ChatGPT competitor, according to Meta’s announcement.

Joel Pobar worked on building inference systems for OpenAI rival Anthropic. That means making sure massively popular AI systems have enough data centers and other tools to run smoothly. Prior to joining Anthropic, Pobar worked at Meta (then Facebook) for about a decade, leading engineering teams, his LinkedIn page shows.





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Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education launches the AI Leadership Programme in collaboration with Emeritus

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The programme explores future-focused AI strategies and frameworks to foster innovation, accelerate organisational growth and build resilience.

CAMBRIDGE, England, July 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education announces the launch of its four-month Cambridge AI Leadership Programme. This programme equips leaders with both strategic insights and practical knowledge to harness AI for business transformation. Launched in collaboration with Emeritus, a global leader in making high-quality education accessible and affordable, enrolment is now open for a September 2025 start.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, and organisations are eager to understand and leverage its full potential to enhance efficiency, drive innovation and stay competitive. According to Forbes, 68% of employers consider AI to be crucial for future success. However, many AI projects fail due to a lack of strategic leadership and integration. The Cambridge AI Leadership Programme helps participants navigate the complexities of AI adoption, identify scalable opportunities and build a strategic roadmap for successful implementation.

Through a blend of in-person and online learning modules, participants will develop an understanding of AI concepts, applications and best practices to enhance decision-making skills as well as examine digital transformation and ethical AI governance. They will engage directly with world-renowned Cambridge faculty, industry experts and global peers while immersing themselves in the rich Cambridge ecosystem. By the end of the programme, participants will be prepared to implement AI strategies that deliver operational excellence and long-term organisational success.

“AI is a transformative force reshaping business strategy, decision-making and leadership. Senior executives must not only understand AI but also use it to drive business goals, efficiency and new revenue opportunities,” says Professor David Stillwell, Co-Academic Programme Director. “The Cambridge AI Leadership Programme offers a strategic road map, equipping leaders with the skills and mindset to integrate AI into their organisations and lead in an AI-driven world.”

“The Cambridge AI Leadership Programme empowers decision-makers to harness AI in ways that align with their organisation’s goals and prepare for the future,” says Vesselin Popov, Co-Academic Programme Director. “Through a comprehensive learning experience, participants gain strategic insights and practical knowledge to drive transformation, strengthen decision-making and navigate technological shifts with confidence.”

The programme is designed for senior leaders looking to lead transformation, unlock new revenue opportunities and integrate AI technologies into business operations effectively. It bridges the critical gap between technology and business strategy, preparing leaders to achieve AI-driven business goals.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education to help senior leaders deepen their understanding of AI’s strategic applications and build foresight to balance innovation while managing risk,” says Mike Malefakis, President of University Partnerships at Emeritus. “Through blended learning, the Cambridge AI Leadership Programme enables participants to leverage AI tools and strategies for business optimisation and growth.”

The Cambridge AI Leadership Programme starts on 22 September 2025. For more information and to apply, please visit the programme website.

About Cambridge Judge Business School

Cambridge Judge Business School leverages the power of academia for real-world impact to transform individuals, organisations and society. Since 1990, Cambridge Judge has forged a reputation as a centre of rigorous thinking and high-impact transformative education, situated within one of the world’s most prestigious research universities and in the heart of the Cambridge Cluster, the most successful technology entrepreneurship cluster in Europe. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, Cambridge Judge placed first in the Times Higher Education rankings for Business and Management Studies in the United Kingdom. Ninety-four per cent of Cambridge’s overall REF submissions were rated as “world leading” or “internationally excellent”, demonstrating the major global impact that Cambridge Judge researchers are making on society. Cambridge Judge pursues innovation through interdisciplinary insight, entrepreneurial spirit and collaboration. Cutting-edge research is rooted in real-world challenges, and students and clients are encouraged to ask excellent questions to create real-world change. Undergraduate, graduate and executive programmes attract innovators, creative thinkers, thoughtful and collaborative problem-solvers as well as current and future leaders, drawn from a huge diversity of backgrounds and countries.

About Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education

Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education offers a wide range of open-enrolment and customised programmes that will test, challenge, encourage and inspire you. We will help you embrace the knowledge and skills you need – to grow in confidence and to evolve and adapt. Get ready to lead purposefully, manage effectively and innovate in an increasingly complex future.

About Emeritus

Emeritus is committed to teaching the skills of the future by making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, organisations and governments worldwide. It does so by collaborating with more than 80 top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and China. Emeritus’s short courses, degree programmes, professional certificates and senior executive programmes help individuals learn new skills and transform their lives, companies and organisations. Its unique model of state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation and hands-on instruction from senior faculty, mentors and coaches has educated more than 350,000 individuals across more than 80 countries. For more information, please visit https://emeritus.org.

SOURCE Emeritus



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Capgemini falls as WNS deal raises questions over AI’s business impact — TradingView News

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** Shares in French IT services firm Capgemini CAP fall more than 5% to their lowest price since late April, after it agreed to buy WNS WNS for $3.3 billion of cash

** Analysts from Morgan Stanley say investors are concerned over the impact of Gen AI on the business process outsourcing (BPO) market that Capgemini wants to develop into

** “The bear case is that new technology would shift BPO from a people intensive business to one which is much more highly automated and managed by software and not people” – MS

** This could mean reduction of BPO revenues and exposure of incumbent vendors to competition from new entrants, MS adds

** “We expect investors to be able to see the opportunity that could come from disrupting BPO with Gen AI but think some evidence will be needed to convince the market WNS is the right vehicle,” MS says

** The analysts add WNS is not large enough to be transformational to Capgemini’s financials, while the deal is using up its balance sheet firepower for a couple of years

** Capgemini’s shares are at the bottom of Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index SXXP



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Capgemini-WNS Deal: French firm to acquire BPS provider for $3.3 billion; eyes edge in agentic AI operations

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French tech giant Capgemini on Monday announced its acquisition of business process services (BPS) provider WNS for $3.3 billion in cash, a strategic move aimed at creating a global leader in AI-powered business operations. As per the news agency AFP, the deal, unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, values WNS at $76.50 per share, a 28 per cent premium over its 90-day average trading price.With this acquisition, Capgemini aims to tap into the fast-evolving demand for agentic AI, or autonomous AI agents, which can independently perform tasks and make decisions in business environments. “Capgemini’s acquisition of WNS will provide the group with the scale and vertical sector expertise to capture that rapidly emerging strategic opportunity created by the paradigm shift from traditional BPS to agentic AI-powered intelligent operations,” said Capgemini CEO Aiman Ezzat, as cited by AFP.WNS, headquartered in London with a second base in India and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, began in the late 1990s by offering services to British Airways. Today, it caters to clients across various sectors, helping them transition from conventional outsourcing to tech-driven operational models. The company is widely recognised as a key player in the BPS sector, which has evolved from simple back-office outsourcing to complex AI-integrated process management.“Organisations that have already digitised are now seeking to reimagine their operating models by embedding AI at the core, shifting from automation to autonomy,” WNS CEO Keshav Murugesh said, as per AFP.Capgemini, which provides IT consulting and digital transformation services, said the acquisition would open up strong cross-selling opportunities and is expected to immediately enhance its financial performance. The deal is projected to boost earnings per share by 4 per cent in 2026 and by 7 per cent in 2027 once synergies are realised.To fund the acquisition and assume WNS’s existing debt, Capgemini has secured €4 billion ($4.7 billion) in bridge financing, it said in a joint statement with WNS. The transaction reflects a broader industry shift as companies move from AI-assisted automation to building AI-led autonomous operations.





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