Meta's loss is Thinking Machines' gain

· ai startups cloud · Source ↗

TLDR

  • Thinking Machines Lab has hired more researchers from Meta than any other single employer, even as Meta poaches TML’s founders.

Key Facts

  • TML’s headcount stands at ~140; recent Meta hires include CTO Soumith Chintala (11 years, co-founded PyTorch) and research director Piotr Dollár.
  • Kenneth Li spent 10 months at Meta before joining TML this month; Weiyao Wang, an 8-year Meta veteran, joined last week.
  • TML also recruited from OpenAI, Anthropic, Waymo, Windsurf, Apple, and Microsoft’s AI Superintelligence team.
  • TML recently signed a multibillion-dollar cloud deal with Google, gaining access to Nvidia GB300 chips.

Why It Matters

  • The talent flow runs both ways: Meta has reportedly poached seven TML founders while TML pulls heavily from Meta’s research ranks.
  • At a $12 billion valuation with one product shipped, TML is competing for top researchers against much larger labs.

Connie Loizos / TechCrunch · 2026-04-24 · Read the original