May 8, 2025:
Meta Hires Ex-DeepMind Director for AI Lab - Meta has named Robert Fergus, former research director at Google DeepMind, to head its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab. Before joining DeepMind, Fergus was a research scientist at Meta. Established in 2013, FAIR developed early AI models such as Llama 1 and 2.
The lab has faced challenges, including staff leaving for startups and Meta's GenAI group, which produced Llama 4. Additionally, Joelle Pineau, Meta's former VP of AI Research, recently departed for a new opportunity.
