In what is being described as the boldest AI talent acquisition in tech history, a leaked list of 44 researchers now associated with Meta’s Superintelligence Labs is circulating online, sparking industry-wide speculation. The team, handpicked by Mark Zuckerberg, includes many of the brightest minds in AI poached from OpenAI, DeepMind, Apple, Anthropic, and other top labs. This team is central to Meta’s ambition of building Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and competing directly with OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
What Is the “List of 44”?
The phrase refers to an unofficial but widely circulated document listing the 44 members of Meta’s elite AI team. The details emerged after several resignations were confirmed from OpenAI and other firms, followed by Meta’s announcement of a unified Superintelligence Lab.
While Meta hasn’t published the list officially, leaks have revealed:
- 50% of team members are of Chinese origin.
- 40% are former OpenAI employees, including GPT-4o contributors.
- 75% hold PhDs from institutions like MIT, Stanford, and Tsinghua.
- Most are active researchers or engineers in LLMs, multimodal systems, reasoning, and RLHF.
- Compensation packages are rumored to range between $10M–$100M annually.
This list is seen by many as Meta’s declaration of war in the AI talent race.
Who’s on the Team?
Confirmed or Publicly Known Members Include:
- Trapit Bansal – Chain-of-thought reasoning expert, formerly OpenAI.
- Shuchao Bi – Co-developer of GPT-4o’s voice mode.
- Huiwen Chang – Architect of Muse, MaskGIT, formerly Google Research.
- Jack Rae – Gemini 1 and 1.5 model designer from DeepMind.
- Jiahui Yu, Shengjia Zhao, Ji Lin, and Hongyu Ren – Former OpenAI researchers.
- Jason Wei and Hyung Won Chung – Both ex-OpenAI, joined recently.
- Joel Pobar, Johan Schalkwyk, Pei Sun – Previously from Anthropic and Google.
- Hammad Syed – Founder of PlayAI, an AI tooling startup.
- Nat Friedman – Ex-GitHub CEO, helping guide applied AI at Meta.
- Alexandr Wang – Former Scale AI CEO, now Meta’s Chief AI Officer.
While the full list remains undisclosed, about 20–25 names have been independently confirmed by outlets like Reuters, Business Insider, Wired, and The Financial Express.
The New List of 44:
A new list has gained spotlight after heavy circulation on the internet. This list of 44 can be traced back to a post on Twitter (X) by Deedy @deedydas and then picked up by redditors and some news outlets.
A Global Team, But Heavily Chinese-Origin
One of the most discussed facts from the leak: 50% of the team members are of Chinese origin, many of them educated in the West. This has prompted geopolitical concerns, particularly in the U.S., where Meta’s data center investments and global AI influence are under scrutiny.
Additionally, only two Indian-origin researchers, Trapit Bansal and Hammad Syed are reported to be on the team, despite India being a major talent exporter in AI.
Compensation & Talent War
While Meta has denied some of the more extreme claims, multiple insiders suggest that some members received nine-figure packages, especially those who worked on the core architecture of OpenAI’s GPT models.
A leaked internal post suggests:
“Average researcher at MSL earns between $10M–$60M. Core team members may earn more.”
This level of compensation has sparked debate around AI brain drain, particularly affecting OpenAI, Apple, and Google.
Why the List Matters
1. Strategic Signaling
The leak of the list, whether intentional or not, sends a signal that Meta is now a first-tier AI contender, not just a social media company dabbling in LLMs.
2. Global Race for AGI
This team is not focused on short-term products like chatbots. According to Meta insiders, the group’s charter is to:
“Pursue safe, open, and frontier superintelligence that can rival or surpass GPT‑5 and Gemini‑Ultra.”
3. Cultural Tensions
OpenAI’s Sam Altman has reportedly called Meta’s recruitment tactics “mercenaries vs missionaries,” questioning whether such high-salary teams can remain motivated by purpose rather than payouts.
Breakdown of Meta’s Superintelligence Team
| Attribute | Stat/Estimate |
|---|---|
| Total Members | 44 |
| % Chinese-origin | 50% |
| % Ex-OpenAI | 40% |
| % with PhDs | ~75% |
| Avg. Compensation | $10M–$60M |
| Known Indian-origin Members | 2 (Trapit Bansal, Hammad Syed) |
| Research Focus | LLMs, multimodal, RL, reasoning |
| Publicly Confirmed Names | ~20–25 |
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