🕶️ Zuckerberg’s AI Avengers keep growing

Meta has hired Trapit Bansal, a key OpenAI researcher behind its first AI reasoning model, to join its new AI superintelligence unit—part of Mark Zuckerberg’s $100M talent grab strategy. Bansal, known for his work on reinforcement learning, joins a growing team of ex-OpenAI, DeepMind, and Scale AI leaders tasked with building frontier reasoning models to rival OpenAI’s o3 and DeepSeek’s R1.

While Meta doesn’t yet offer public reasoning models, it’s clearly aiming to change that. The company’s aggressive recruiting — including failed acquisition attempts and poaching top minds — has caught the attention of Sam Altman, who insists his “best people” haven’t jumped ship. Meta’s latest hires suggest otherwise.

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Crossing Minds, an AI startup specializing in privacy-focused recommendation systems for e-commerce, is joining OpenAI, bringing its team and expertise into the fold of one of the world’s leading AI labs. Backed by investors like Index Ventures and Shopify, the startup raised over $13.5 million and worked with brands like Intuit and Chanel to personalize user experiences without compromising data privacy.

Co-founder Alexandre Robicquet now lists his role at OpenAI as focused on research, post-training, and agents, signaling a potential integration of Crossing Minds’ capabilities into OpenAI’s product ecosystem. While it’s unclear if the full team is making the move, the company has stopped accepting new clients, underscoring a full pivot. The acquisition aligns with OpenAI’s expanding push into shopping-related AI tools and recommendation features, as it looks to compete with offerings from Google, Perplexity, and well-funded upstarts like Daydream.