Meta forming applied AI engineering team: What will it do?
04 Mar 2026

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is forming a new applied artificial intelligence (AI) engineering team within its Reality Labs division.

The new team will be led by Maher Saba, Vice President of Reality Labs.

The move is aimed at harnessing the potential of AI in improving Meta's projects and services.

AI team to report directly to CTO
Reporting structure

The new AI engineering team will report directly to Andrew Bosworth, Meta's Chief Technology Officer.

This direct reporting structure shows the importance of this new team in Meta's overall tech strategy.

The move is seen as a major step toward integrating advanced technology into Meta's projects, promising improved features and user experiences driven by AI.

Meta strikes $50M/year deal with News Corp
Strategic partnership

In a bid to accelerate its AI development, Meta has signed a major deal with News Corp.

The agreement, worth up to $50 million per year, gives Meta access to content from the US and UK divisions of News Corp.

This includes content related to the Wall Street Journal owner for training its AI tools and improving their performance.

Potential for more strategic partnerships in the future
Future prospects

News Corp's CEO Robert Thomson hinted at the possibility of more strategic partnerships in the future. He said that while they have one "very public horizontal deal," they are also "at an advanced stage" in other negotiations.