Yann LeCun, the chief artificial intelligence scientist at Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), is reportedly planning to leave the company to establish his own startup.
LeCun’s Exit Amid AI Strategy Shift
LeCun, a Turing Award recipient and a prominent figure in modern AI, is set to depart from the Silicon Valley giant in the coming months, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. He is also in the early stages of raising funds for his new venture.
LeCun’s exit coincides with Zuckerberg’s efforts to revamp Meta’s AI strategy, aiming to compete with industry leaders like OpenAI and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG). The CEO has shifted focus from the long-term research work of Meta’s Fundamental AI Research Lab (Fair) to a more rapid deployment of AI models and products.
Meta Reshapes AI Strategy After Llama 4
Following the underwhelming release of Meta’s Llama 4 model, Zuckerberg has redirected the company’s AI strategy. He has hired Alexandr Wang to lead a new “superintelligence” team and formed an exclusive team, TBD Lab, to drive the development of the next iteration of its large language models.
LeCun, who formerly reported to Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, will now report directly to Wang — a move that signals a shift in Meta's AI strategy. The change comes as LeCun, a longtime critic of relying solely on large language models (LLMs), has maintained that while they are "useful," they cannot yet reason and plan like humans.
Structural Shake Ups At Meta
LeCun's exit marks the latest in a string of leadership and structural shake-ups at Meta, which has endured a turbulent year. In May, AI research vice president Joelle Pineau departed, and just last month, the company cut roughly 600 positions from its AI research division.
The news also comes as Meta’s intensified efforts to strengthen the U.S.’s AI leadership. The company plans to invest over $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028 to expand its AI technology, data centers, and workforce capabilities.
However, investor Steve Eisman warned that Meta is losing the AI spending war to Google and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). The company’s stock plunged after Zuckerberg signaled higher AI spending ahead, raising concerns about the return on Meta’s multibillion-dollar investment in becoming an “AI leader.”
Meta holds a momentum rating of 48.43 and a growth rating of 72.52%, according to Benzinga's Proprietary Edge Rankings. Check the detailed report here.
Price Action: On Monday, Meta fell 1.62% to close at $631.76, as per data from Benzinga Pro. Over the past 12 months, it gained 8.33%.
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