Meta is poised to lose one of its leading minds in artificial intelligence as Yann LeCun, the company’s chief AI scientist, prepares to embark on a new startup venture. According to a report from the Financial Times, which cites confidential sources, LeCun aims to transition from Meta in the upcoming months and is currently seeking financial backing for a project focused on advancing his research in world models.
World models are sophisticated AI systems designed to form an internal representation of their surroundings, enabling them to simulate cause-and-effect scenarios to anticipate future outcomes. Major organizations, including Google DeepMind and World Labs, are also actively developing similar technologies.
LeCun’s exit comes at a crucial juncture for Meta, which has recently shifted its AI development strategy amid growing competition from rivals like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. In response, the company has revamped its AI initiatives, highlighting a new division named Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) that has seen the recruitment of more than 50 engineers and researchers from competitors. This follows Meta’s significant investment of $14.3 billion in Scale AI, a data-labeling company, and the appointment of its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to spearhead this new effort.
Under LeCun’s leadership in the Fundamental AI Research Lab (FAIR), his long-term research has faced challenges in aligning with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ambition to overhaul AI strategies, particularly after the company’s earlier AI models, Llama 4, fell short compared to competing models. Unlike MSL, FAIR remains dedicated to long-term AI strategies that may not be fully realized for another five to ten years.
LeCun has expressed reservations about the current marketing of AI technology, particularly large language models (LLMs), cautioning that they still have significant limitations. In a recent tweet, he articulated his stance, stating that before delving into the sophisticated control of AI systems, a more fundamental understanding is required. “We need to have the beginning of a hint of a design for a system smarter than a house cat,” he remarked.
As of now, Meta has not provided any comment regarding LeCun’s planned departure.
