Meta Taps Former Google Leaders to Accelerate Ambitions in AI Agents
Meta strengthens its AI agent ambitions by hiring Dreamer’s founders and expanding acquisitions to stay ahead in fast-growing agentic AI.
In a decisive push toward the rapidly evolving world of agentic artificial intelligence, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has brought onboard the leadership team behind AI startup Dreamer. The move signals the company’s growing urgency to compete in a space many consider the next frontier of AI innovation.
Dreamer’s co-founders — Hugo Barra, David Singleton, and Nicholas Jitkoff — will join Meta’s newly formed Superintelligence Labs. The unit is led by Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang and is central to Meta’s long-term AI roadmap.
All three founders bring strong credentials from earlier roles at Google. Barra’s career also includes leadership positions at Meta and Xiaomi, while Singleton previously served as chief technology officer at Stripe. Despite the hiring move, Dreamer will continue to operate as an independent legal entity, with Meta licensing its technology rather than fully absorbing the company.
Launched earlier this year, Dreamer focuses on tools that let users build personalized AI agents capable of automating everyday digital tasks such as email handling and calendar management. Singleton recently shared on X that the platform has already attracted thousands of users. The startup had previously secured $56 million in funding at a valuation of $500 million.
Meta’s recruitment drive follows a series of aggressive steps aimed at strengthening its position in agentic AI. Earlier this month, the company acquired Moltbook, an AI-native social platform, integrating its team into Superintelligence Labs. Meta also announced the acquisition of Manus AI in a deal reportedly valued at more than $2 billion.
Together, these moves underscore Meta’s plan to develop AI agents that are deeply personalized, continuously active, and seamlessly integrated across devices and services.
During a January earnings call, Zuckerberg emphasized that the company was making “profound” progress in AI agent development. Reports suggest he is personally testing an AI CEO agent designed to assist with executive decision-making and workflow management.
MSL chief Alexandr Wang previously described AI agents as offering "some of the greatest opportunity to actually give a more powerful version of AI to every single person in the world."
Meta’s expansion comes amid intensifying competition. OpenAI recently recruited Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, to advance its own agent initiatives. Meanwhile, Nvidia has introduced its NemoClaw agentic AI platform, and Anthropic continues to expand agent-style capabilities within Claude, enabling deeper computer control and remote task execution.
As tech giants race to define the next phase of AI, Meta’s latest talent acquisitions and platform deals make one thing clear — the battle for intelligent digital agents is only just beginning.
