Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang flags concerns over Mark Zuckerberg’s 'micromanagement'
Meta’s high-profile push into artificial intelligence has hit internal turbulence, with Alexandr Wang, the young tech executive brought in after Meta’s multibillion-dollar investment in Scale AI, reportedly expressing frustration over CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s close control of the company’s AI strategy, according to a report by the Financial Times.The report said Wang, who has been tasked with leading Meta’s AI ambitions, has complained privately to associates that Mark Zuckerberg’s micromanagement of the AI effort is suffocating and is slowing progress, citing multiple people familiar with the matter. The unease is the latest sign of wider disruption at Meta, which has faced repeated layoffs, senior leadership departures, hurried AI product launches and heavy spending that have weighed on employee morale and unsettled investors.In June 2025, Meta announced that Wang would head its AI strategy through a newly created Superintelligence Labs unit, designed to consolidate the company’s AI research, infrastructure and product development under one umbrella. Shortly after taking charge, Wang initiated a sweeping reorganisation of Meta’s AI operations. In an internal memo, he informed employees that superintelligence was approaching and that the company needed to reorganise around research, product and infrastructure to take the goal seriously.As part of the overhaul, Meta split its AI initiatives into four core focus areas aimed at accelerating work towards general-purpose, superintelligent systems, widely seen as the next frontier in artificial intelligence. The Financial Times report said that despite this restructuring, Zuckerberg has retained a tight grip on key decisions, contributing to tensions at the top of the organisation.Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI was positioned as a strategic move to strengthen its AI capabilities rather than a straightforward acquisition. Scale AI brings expertise in data annotation pipelines, large-scale infrastructure and training systems, assets that give Meta an edge as competition intensifies with rivals such as OpenAI and Google DeepMind.The partnership with Wang was intended to bolster Meta’s standing in the global race towards artificial general intelligence, but the report suggested that internal strains over leadership and control could complicate that ambition as the company continues to pour resources into its AI push.First Published on Dec 19, 2025 9:41 AM
