Meta’s Bold Move After Failing to Acquire Safe Superintelligence

When Meta couldn’t buy Safe Superintelligence (SSI), it went for the next best thing: hiring its brains.

Earlier this year, Meta reportedly tried to acquire SSI — the secretive, high-valued AI startup co-founded by ex-OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. Despite a serious bid, Sutskever turned them down. Rather than walk away, Meta switched tactics: instead of buying the company, they began poaching its top talent.

Among Meta’s biggest hires is Daniel Gross, SSI co-founder and a former Apple AI lead. Joining him is Nat Friedman, former GitHub CEO. The duo also co-run NFDG, a powerful venture fund with deep ties in the AI startup world. They’ll now report to Alexandr Wang, the founder of Scale AI, who recently joined Meta as part of a $14.3 billion deal that handed Meta a 49% stake in his company. Meta is also reportedly buying into NFDG itself — further expanding its influence over the early-stage AI ecosystem.

This talent grab signals just how serious Mark Zuckerberg is about making Meta a leader in artificial general intelligence (AGI). Superintelligence is no longer a side project — it’s at the core of Meta’s future.

Safe Superintelligence, meanwhile, remains one of Silicon Valley’s most mysterious players. It has no product, no demos, and just a small team of around 24 people. Yet it raised $2 billion in April at a $32 billion valuation — following a $1 billion raise just months earlier. Its mission is simple but ambitious: to build a superintelligent AI that’s safe and aligned with human values. That vision stands in stark contrast to OpenAI’s increasingly commercial focus.

Backed by tech heavyweights like Google and Nvidia — as well as top VCs like Andreessen Horowitz and DST Global — SSI is reportedly a major Google Cloud customer, consuming more TPU capacity than almost any non-Google company. It’s also expanding quietly, hiring AI experts in Tel Aviv while keeping operations tightly under wraps.

Meta’s failed acquisition attempt wasn’t just about money — it was about control. And SSI didn’t want to give that up. Their rejection sent a clear message: independence matters. But Zuckerberg isn't backing down. By bringing on the people who helped shape SSI, he’s showing Meta will do whatever it takes to compete in the AI race.