Meta shares hit all-time high as Mark Zuckerberg goes on AI hiring blitz

On Monday, shares of Meta reached an all-time high, reflecting a surge in investor enthusiasm for the company's newly established AI superintelligence division. The stock peaked at $747.90 during midday trading, surpassing the previous record set in February, which came shortly after the company announced layoffs impacting 5% of its workforce deemed 'low performers.' CEO Mark Zuckerberg is aggressively expanding the AI team in response to intense competition from industry giants like OpenAI and Alphabet, Google's parent company. Back in June, Meta disclosed plans to recruit Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and several colleagues as part of a substantial $14.3 billion investment in Wang's data labeling and annotation startup. Furthermore, the company has brought on board Nat Friedman and his associate Daniel Gross, leaders of the AI startup Safe Superintelligence, which boasts a valuation of $32 billion. Despite attempts to acquire Safe Superintelligence, the startup's founder, renowned AI expert Ilya Sutskever, declined Meta's offer. As reported by CNBC, Wang and Friedman will spearhead Meta's new Superintelligence Labs, focusing on the development of the company’s foundational AI models and research initiatives. Meta is also actively recruiting AI talent from OpenAI, with CEO Sam Altman revealing in a podcast that the company is offering signing bonuses reaching as high as $100 million. Andrew Bosworth, Meta's technology chief, elaborated on the AI hiring surge during an interview with CNBC’s "Closing Bell Overtime," emphasizing that the current talent market is exceptionally competitive, unlike anything he has encountered in his two-decade career in tech. The momentum of Meta’s investments and recruitment efforts underscores its commitment to leading the charge in artificial intelligence.