Meta has parted ways with employees it hired from AI safety startup Virtue AI, including the startup’s co-founders, just four months after recruiting the team as part of its efforts to strengthen AI safety and security capabilities.
The departures include Virtue AI co-founders Bo Li, Dawn Song and Sanmi Koyejo, who joined Meta in June along with other members of the startup’s team. The hiring had been seen as part of Meta’s push to build specialised expertise in AI safety as competition intensifies among technology companies for talent in the field.
Andy Stone, Meta’s spokesperson, reportedlg said the arrangement did not work out as planned and attributed the decision to differences in working styles. The company said its Meta Superintelligence Labs remains focused on AI safety, alignment and research into risks associated with advanced AI systems.
Virtue AI had developed tools focused on AI security and governance, including automated red-teaming systems and runtime safeguards. The startup had also worked with companies including Anthropic and OpenAI, as well as the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The decision comes just months after Meta recruited the Virtue AI team instead of acquiring the startup outright. The short tenure highlights the challenges technology companies face when integrating specialised AI teams, particularly as they compete aggressively for researchers and engineers with expertise in safety and security.
The departures also come as policymakers in the US debate stronger oversight of advanced AI systems and technology companies continue to refine their approaches to AI safety.
Meta has maintained that the departure of the Virtue AI team does not represent a change in its broader commitment to AI safety and frontier-risk research.
