Alexandr Wang on startup management and recruiting AI talent at Meta
Scale AI founder and current Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, speaking on David Senra's podcast on October 11 local time, advised first-time founders to personally take on every task and master the details before gradually delegating. Using Scale AI as an example, he said direct founder control over execution was one factor in the company's success, but the cost was that every decision ran through him, making him a bottleneck. At Meta he has changed approach: because Meta Superintelligence Labs must complete a large amount of work in a very short time and he describes himself as neither an AI researcher nor a product designer, he has shifted his focus to recruiting top talent across specialist areas and building an environment where they can apply their expertise. The article notes Wang became Meta's chief AI officer in June 2025, heading the newly formed Meta Superintelligence Labs, while Meta invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI for a 49% non-voting stake.
It signals that Meta Superintelligence Labs is currently leaning on recruiting top specialists rather than having its chief AI officer personally drive research.