Khaberni - Three of the top figures in the massive "Stargate" project, affiliated with OpenAI and aimed at creating AI data centers worth hundreds of billions of dollars, will join Meta, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Among these individuals is Peter Hushiel, who played a pivotal role in the "Stargate" initiative.
They will be joined by Shameez Himani, who worked in computing strategy and business development, and Anuj Saharan, another leader in the computing division, according to a report by Bloomberg citing sources.
OpenAI has not responded to a request for comment, but has previously stated that it is grateful for the contributions of the three employees and remains focused on attracting talent for its infrastructure plans.
The company appointed Sachin Katti, former CEO at Intel, last November to lead its efforts in the field of industrial computing.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has committed to spending substantial amounts to build data centers, provide computing capabilities, and attract the necessary talent to compete in the rapidly evolving AI race.
Meta expects to spend up to $135 billion on AI infrastructure projects this year alone. By the end of the decade, Zuckerberg has pledged to spend hundreds of billions more on these projects.
This computing capacity will support Meta's labs for super intelligence, a team set up by Zuckerberg to keep up with competitors in the AI field. Meta recently launched a new AI model developed by this team, the "Muse Spark" model.
The "Stargate" project was announced last year at the White House as a $500 billion initiative between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank Group. However, the project later evolved into a comprehensive brand covering all OpenAI data center plans.
OpenAI has said it is leading its AI competitors in expanding its computing infrastructure to support the company's models. This included projects such as a site in Abilene, Texas, overseen by Hushiel and his team.
The company, based in San Francisco, recently indicated in a new investor memo that its early start in securing computing power represents a competitive advantage over its competitor "Anthropic".
However, the Stargate project has undergone a number of changes since its launch. OpenAI announced on Thursday that it would temporarily halt the Stargate AI infrastructure project in the United Kingdom as part of scaling back ambitious spending plans ahead of its upcoming public offering.
The company also decided, in partnership with Oracle, not to lease an expansion of the site in Abilene.
