Meta's AI Research Head Joelle Pineau to Step Down

Joelle Pineau, Meta’s Vice President of AI Research, announced on Tuesday that she will step down from her role at the end of May, leaving behind a pivotal position in the midst of fierce competition in the AI space.

After eight years with the company, Pineau shared her decision in a social media post, reflecting on a rapidly changing world and the accelerating race for AI advancements. “As Meta prepares for its next chapter, it’s time to create space for others to continue this crucial work,” she wrote.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has not yet commented on her departure, and Pineau did not reveal her successor. Her announcement comes just weeks before the company’s new LlamaCon AI conference, scheduled for April 29.

Pineau, who is also a computer science professor at McGill University in Montreal, has been a key advocate for Meta’s open-source approach to AI, particularly with the development of Llama, Meta's flagship large language model. This initiative encourages the public release of core AI components, allowing others to use and modify them.

Her departure follows her leadership of Meta’s AI research division since 2023, a year after it was rebranded from Facebook AI Research (FAIR). FAIR was originally founded a decade ago by a team that included AI pioneer Yann LeCun, who stepped down as its director in 2018 but continues to serve as Meta’s Chief AI Scientist.

Pineau’s exit marks a significant moment as Meta continues to evolve its AI strategy amidst mounting competition from tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and emerging AI startups.