Meta told Semafor that it has let go of employees it recruited from AI security startup Virtue AI, roughly four months after those hires joined the company. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone described the situation as an arrangement that “didn’t work out as planned,” attributing the departures to clashing work styles among the teams.
The group of hires joined Meta in June, and their departure occurred four months later. The move highlights that Meta is still refining its approach to AI and AI safety at a time when lawmakers in Washington are increasingly discussing regulation.
Stone also said that Meta Superintelligence Labs remains focused on AI safety, alignment and frontier risk. Virtue AI, the startup in question, has previously done work with organizations including Anthropic, OpenAI and the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Earlier reporting by Axios in June indicated that Virtue AI co-founders Bo Li, Dawn Song and Sanmi Koyejo were among those joining Meta, along with other employees from the startup. The Virtue team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The departures illustrate ongoing shifts within tech companies as they adjust internal teams and strategies to address emerging AI risks and regulatory pressures, even as research units such as Meta Superintelligence Labs assert continued commitment to safety-focused work.
