Meta has appointed Robert Fergus as the new leader of its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab. Fergus joins Meta following nearly five years as a research director at Google DeepMind. Prior to his tenure at Google, Fergus served as a research scientist at Meta itself.
Founded in 2013, Meta’s FAIR unit has encountered several challenges recently. Historically, it spearheaded the development of important early AI models, including Llama 1 and Llama 2. However, in recent years, FAIR has reportedly experienced significant talent drain, as numerous researchers departed for positions at other tech companies, startups, and even internally moved to Meta’s GenAI team that led the creation of the newest model, Llama 4.
The appointment comes after Joelle Pineau, Meta’s previous Vice President of AI Research, announced in April that she would be leaving the company for a new opportunity.
