After Failed SSI Takeover, Meta Now Eyes CEO Daniel Gross And Ex-GitHub Chief Nat Friedman

Benzinga·06/21/2025 03:48:25

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After a failed attempt to acquire Safe Superintelligence (SSI), an AI startup co-founded by OpenAI's former chief scientist, Meta Platform Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is intensifying its pursuit of artificial intelligence through an aggressive recruitment strategy aimed at attracting top talent.

What Happened: As per a CNBC report, a stealth-mode startup valued at $32 billion declined Meta's acquisition offer. SSI is committed to independently developing aligned superintelligence, marking one of the boldest moves in the AI landscape.

Founded on June 19, 2024, SSI was launched by Ilya Sutskever, former co-founder and chief scientist of OpenAI, and Daniel Gross, ex-Apple Inc. AI director. Gross currently serves as SSI’s CEO.

Why It Matters: Following the failed acquisition, Meta has shifted its strategy to talent acquisition. According to The Information, the company is now attempting to recruit Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman, the former CEO of GitHub.

Gross and Friedman are also partners at the VC firm NFDG, which has invested in prominent AI startups like Perplexity AI and Character.AI.

This pursuit comes shortly after Meta brought in Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, along with several executives from Scale to lead its superintelligence initiatives.

Also Read: Why Meta’s ‘Superintelligence’ Project Lead Alexandr Wang Says It Is A Strange Time To Be A Scientist

Meta's Plan: Amid delays in unveiling Llama, Meta's foundation language models, the company appears to be pivoting toward research-heavy, cutting-edge AI development, moving beyond chatbots and hardware toward long-term superintelligence goals.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: Skorzewiak / Shutterstock.com

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