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According to a report by Bloomberg News, Meta has appointed former Google DeepMind Research Director Robert Fergus as the new head of its FAIR (Fundamental AI Research) lab, succeeding Joëlle Pineau, who announced her departure from the role of Vice President of AI Research at Meta in early April.
Prior to this appointment, Robert Fergus spent five years at Google DeepMind and had previously served as a research scientist at Meta, making him no stranger to the company’s ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence.
With his return to Meta to lead the FAIR research division, Fergus is expected to play a pivotal role in advancing the company’s AI initiatives and in fostering greater innovation within the organization.
Founded in 2013, FAIR has served as Meta’s central hub for AI research. Its most prominent output to date is the LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI) series of models, including the recently released LLaMA 4. Although this latest iteration touts enhanced performance capabilities, it has faced skepticism over whether it truly meets the expectations set by its predecessors.
Moreover, Meta’s pursuit of cutting-edge AI technology has reportedly come under mounting financial pressure. In 2024, the company was said to have sought external funding from industry giants such as Microsoft and Amazon to support the training of its expansive LLaMA models. Simultaneously, a notable wave of researcher departures from FAIR—many of whom have joined rival firms and startups—has prompted Meta to intensify recruitment efforts to sustain the momentum of its AI research and development.
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