TLDR
- Joelle Pineau, Meta’s VP of AI Research, announced she’s leaving the company on May 30
- She has led Meta’s fundamental AI research unit (FAIR) since 2023 after joining the company in 2017
- Her departure comes as Meta invests billions in AI to compete with OpenAI and Google
- Meta is searching for her replacement and preparing for its LlamaCon AI conference on April 29
- Under Pineau’s leadership, Meta developed the open-source Llama AI models which recently celebrated 1 billion downloads
In an announcement posted to LinkedIn on Tuesday, Joelle Pineau revealed her plans to step down as Meta’s Vice President of AI Research. Her last day at the social media giant will be May 30, ending an eight-year tenure with the company.
Pineau joined Meta in 2017 to lead the company’s Montreal AI research lab. She later took over the leadership of Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) in 2023, the fundamental AI research unit started by renowned AI expert Yann LeCun in 2013.
The timing of her departure is noteworthy. Meta is currently investing heavily in artificial intelligence. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority for the company, with plans to spend $65 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025 alone.
Zuckerberg has openly stated his goal for Meta. He wants to build an AI assistant with more than 1 billion users and develop artificial general intelligence (AGI). AGI refers to computer systems that can think and take actions similar to humans.
In her announcement, Pineau acknowledged the changing landscape. “As the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work,” she wrote on LinkedIn.
LLama AI Models
During her time at Meta, Pineau oversaw many key AI initiatives. She helped develop the company’s open-source Llama family of AI models. These models recently celebrated reaching 1 billion downloads.
She also worked on the PyTorch software for AI developers. Under her leadership, FAIR made advances in voice translation and image recognition technologies that power Meta’s core apps.
Pineau’s announcement comes just weeks before Meta’s LlamaCon AI conference. The event is scheduled for April 29, where the company is expected to unveil Llama 4, the latest version of its AI model.
Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, to whom Pineau reported, said in March that Llama 4 will help power AI agents. The company is also expected to announce a standalone app for its Meta AI chatbot at the conference.
A Meta spokesperson acknowledged Pineau’s contributions in a statement. “We thank Joelle for her leadership of FAIR,” the spokesperson said. “She’s been an important voice for Open Source and helped push breakthroughs to advance our products and the science behind them.”
McGill University
Beyond her work at Meta, Pineau is also a computer science professor at McGill University. There, she serves as a co-director of the university’s reasoning and learning lab.
The company is now conducting a search for Pineau’s successor. According to reports from Bloomberg News, Meta does not have an immediate replacement lined up.
Last year, Meta reorganized its structure. The AI research unit that Pineau led now reports to the company’s chief product officer, Chris Cox. This reorganization reflects the growing strategic importance of AI to Meta’s future.
As for her future plans, Pineau kept details vague. She mentioned that she “will be taking some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure.” She did not specify what this new adventure might be.
Her departure comes at a time of intense competition in the AI field. Meta is racing to establish itself as a leader against rivals like OpenAI and Google. The success of Meta’s AI strategy will likely depend heavily on who steps into Pineau’s role.
