Meta recently revealed the members of its elite Superintelligence team, a powerful group of AI researchers working to build artificial general intelligence (AGI). The team has 44 members, with just 2 Indians and nearly 50% of Chinese origin—raising questions about global AI representation.
Who Are the Two Indian-Origin Members?
1. Trapit Bansal
An IIT Kanpur graduate with a PhD from UMass Amherst, Trapit Bansal previously worked at OpenAI, Google Research, and Microsoft Research. He’s known for contributing to OpenAI’s “o-series” models before joining Meta.
2. Hammad Syed
Co-founder of the AI startup PlayAI, Syed joined Meta after the company acquired his firm. His work focuses on lifelike multilingual TTS agents, contributing to Meta’s voice-driven AI products.
50% of the Team Is Chinese-Origin
According to multiple reports, about 22 members—nearly half the team—are of Chinese origin. This includes many top researchers who have studied at elite universities and worked at organizations like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Scale AI.
Meta’s Aggressive Talent Hunt
Meta’s AI hiring spree has made global headlines:
- Nearly 40% of the team are ex-OpenAI staffers
- Around 20% came from Google DeepMind
- A further 15% were poached from Scale AI
Many of these hires were made through personal outreach by Mark Zuckerberg, and some were offered nine-figure compensation packages.
Why So Few Indians?
Despite India’s booming IT sector, only 4.5% of Meta’s Superintelligence team are Indian-origin. Experts believe this may be due to:
- Brain drain: top talent leaving academia for foreign tech companies
- Limited AI research infrastructure in Indian institutions
- Fewer Indian-founded startups in advanced AI domains like AGI or robotics
Meta Superintelligence Lab: What Is It?
Launched in July 2025, the Meta Superintelligence Lab is led by Alexandr Wang (Chief AI Officer) and Nat Friedman. The lab merges talent from FAIR (Facebook AI Research), foundational model teams, and applied AI groups.
Its mission: build safe and powerful AGI, with large investments in AI safety, alignment, and multi-modal models that rival GPT-5 and Gemini Ultra.
What This Means for India and AI
India’s representation in cutting-edge AI research remains low, despite its tech reputation. With companies like Meta, OpenAI, and Google shaping the future of intelligence, India’s underrepresentation could limit its influence on global AI policy and innovation.
Conclusion
Meta’s Superintelligence team is setting the global standard for AGI research. But with only 2 Indian-origin researchers among 44 total members, India must rethink its strategy to nurture and retain world-class AI talent.
