Andrew Tulloch, Co-Founder of Thinking Machines Lab, Joins Meta
Andrew Tulloch, co-founder of AI startup Thinking Machines Lab, has left the company to join Meta, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Tulloch's departure was announced to employees in a message on Friday, and confirmed by a Thinking Machines Labs spokesperson.
Tulloch had been with Thinking Machines Lab since its inception, working alongside former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Prior to joining the startup, he held positions at OpenAI and Facebook's AI Research Group. The WSJ reported that Tulloch was lured away from Thinking Machines Lab by a compensation package worth up to $1.5 billion over six years, which Meta reportedly offered after its initial bid to acquire the company failed.
"We can confirm that Andrew has decided to pursue a different path for personal reasons," said a spokesperson for Thinking Machines Labs in a statement to the WSJ.
Tulloch's departure marks a significant loss for Thinking Machines Lab, which has been making waves in the AI community with its work on large language models and other cutting-edge technologies. The startup has received significant funding from investors, including a $100 million Series A round announced earlier this year.
The move to Meta is seen as a strategic hire by the company, which has been aggressively recruiting top talent in the AI space. Mark Zuckerberg's efforts to build out Meta's AI capabilities have been well-documented, and Tulloch's expertise will likely be put to use in further developing the company's AI research and development.
The implications of Tulloch's departure are significant, particularly given his background in large language models and other areas of AI research. As one industry expert noted, "Tulloch's departure from Thinking Machines Lab is a loss for the startup, but also a gain for Meta, which will likely benefit from his expertise in building and scaling AI systems."
The current status of Thinking Machines Lab remains unclear, although the company has stated that it will continue to operate without disruption. As for Tulloch, he will join a team at Meta that includes other high-profile hires, including former Google AI researcher Yann LeCun.
In related news, the WSJ reported earlier this year on Mark Zuckerberg's aggressive recruitment efforts in the AI space, which included an offer to acquire Thinking Machines Lab after its initial bid was rejected. The details of the offer were disputed by Meta at the time, with a spokesperson calling the WSJ's description "inaccurate and ridiculous."
*Reporting by Techcrunch.*
