Meta's loss is Thinking Machines gain
In a significant shift within the tech industry, Weiyao Wang, who spent eight years at Meta, has made headlines by joining the rapidly growing startup, Thinking Machines Lab (TML). This transition marks a pivotal moment not only for Wang but also for TML as it expands its influence in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
Weiyao Wang’s Journey
Wang’s career at Meta began right after college, where he played a crucial role in developing multimodal perception systems and contributed to notable projects such as SAM3D, which focuses on open-world segmentation. His departure from Meta last week coincides with TML’s ambitious growth plans, including a landmark multibillion-dollar cloud deal with Google.
Thinking Machines Lab’s Expansion
Thinking Machines Lab is not just benefiting from Wang’s expertise; it has recently secured a significant partnership with Google that grants access to Nvidia’s cutting-edge GB300 chips. This collaboration positions TML among elite AI startups, placing it in the same infrastructure tier as well-known entities like Anthropic and Meta. The announcement of this partnership took place at the Google Cloud Next event, highlighting TML’s growing prominence in the industry.
A Talent Tug-of-War
The tech landscape is witnessing a fierce competition for talent, with both Meta and TML actively recruiting from each other. Reports indicate that Meta has successfully recruited seven founding members from TML, while TML has been countering this trend by hiring more researchers from Meta than any other company. This back-and-forth talent acquisition showcases the fluid nature of the tech workforce.
Recent Additions to Thinking Machines Lab
Among the notable hires at TML are:
- Soumith Chintala: Formerly a CTO at Meta and co-founder of PyTorch, Chintala joined TML after an 11-year tenure at Meta.
- Piotr Dollár: A research director at Meta for over a decade, Dollár co-authored the influential Segment Anything model and is now part of TML’s technical staff.
- Andrea Madotto: Previously a research scientist in Meta’s FAIR division, Madotto focused on multimodal language models before joining TML.
- James Sun: A software engineer with nearly nine years at Meta, Sun worked on large language model (LLM) pre- and post-training before making the jump to TML.
Diverse Talent Pool
Thinking Machines Lab is also attracting talent from outside Meta, enhancing its diverse workforce. Some notable hires include:
- Neal Wu: A three-time gold medalist at the International Olympiad in Informatics and a founding member of the coding startup Cognition.
- Jeffrey Tao: Previously associated with Waymo, Windsurf, and OpenAI, Tao brings a wealth of experience to TML.
- Muhammad Maaz: Formerly held a research fellowship at Anthropic.
- Erik Wijmans: Joined TML after a stint at Apple.
- Liliang Ren: Worked on Microsoft’s AI Superintelligence team before joining TML in March.
Thinking Machines Lab’s Valuation
Despite having released only one product, Thinking Machines Lab is currently valued at an impressive $12 billion. This valuation is remarkable, especially in a tech cycle where such figures were previously unimaginable for companies at this stage. While it still trails behind the record-breaking valuations of industry giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, TML’s financial prospects appear promising.
Meta’s Competitive Edge
Meta is known for offering lucrative pay packages, often reaching seven figures without strings attached. For researchers evaluating their career options, the choice between Meta and TML may boil down to the potential for financial upside and the opportunity to work on groundbreaking projects. The competitive landscape between these two companies is likely to continue shaping the future of AI research and development.
Conclusion
The ongoing talent war between Meta and Thinking Machines Lab illustrates the dynamic nature of the tech industry. As both companies vie for top talent, the implications for innovation and development in AI are profound. With TML’s recent successes and ambitious plans, it is poised to make significant strides in the tech landscape.
Note: This article reflects the current state of affairs as of April 2026 and is subject to change as the tech industry evolves.
