Meta’s Artificial Intelligence division is set for a significant leadership shift as Joelle Pineau, the Vice President of AI Research and head of the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team, has announced her departure. This transition will occur at the end of May 2025, marking the conclusion of her eight-year tenure with the company
Pineau’s resignation arrives during a period of heightened competition within the AI sector. facebook, the parent company of Facebook, is actively accelerating its efforts to develop more sophisticated AI systems. This push is part of a broader race against major competitors, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and the emerging Chinese AI startup, DeepSeek.
The Canadian computer scientist, who initially joined Meta in May 2017, publicly shared her decision via a post on her Facebook page. In her announcement, she expressed a sense of fulfillment and gratitude for her time at the company.
“After nearly 8 years at Meta, the time has come to say farewell,” Pineau wrote. “This has been the professional experience of a lifetime!” She further elaborated on her initial aspirations upon joining Meta, stating, “I arrived at Meta in May 2017, thrilled to be joining forces with some of the world’s best AI researchers, with the simple goal of solving AI and open-sourcing our research to accelerate innovation through the broader ecosystem.”
Under Pineau’s guidance, Meta’s FAIR team played a pivotal role in the development of several key AI technologies
These include PyTorch, FAISS, RoBERTa, DINO, Llama, SAM, and CodeGen, all of which have found widespread application both within Meta and across the broader technology landscape.
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In her reflection on her time at Meta, Pineau expressed profound gratitude towards her mentors, including Michael Schroepfer, Jerome Pesenti, Michael Abrash, and Chris Cox. She acknowledged their invaluable guidance and support throughout her tenure.
Pineau also extended her appreciation to her team at FAIR, recognizing their dedication and collaborative spirit. “You have been there every day of this journey, trying to reinvent the world with me by charting a path for the future of AI,” she stated.
As the AI field continues to evolve rapidly, Pineau believes it is an opportune moment to “create space for others to pursue the work.” This decision reflects her belief in the importance of fostering new leadership and perspectives within the field.
Her official departure from Meta is scheduled for May 30th. Following this, she plans to take time for “observation and reflection” before embarking on her next professional endeavor. Currently, Meta has not publicly named a successor to lead the FAIR team.
