Thinking Machines Co-Founder Rejoins Meta

Andrew Tulloch, co‑founder of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab (TML), has left the startup to rejoin Meta, the Wall Street Journal and The Rundown report. Tulloch — who spent eleven years at Meta before joining OpenAI and later helping to launch TML in February — reportedly confirmed his exit in an internal message citing personal reasons. Thinking Machines raised around $2 billion and built a roughly 30‑person team before shipping its first product earlier this year.

The move highlights continued competition for top AI talent: Meta reportedly pursued Tulloch with an expansive compensation package (reported by some outlets as up to $1.5 billion over six years, which Meta has disputed). The hire comes as Meta reorganizes AI efforts under its Superintelligence Lab (MSL) and plans massive infrastructure spending (reported planning figures mentioned in coverage). Observers see the return of a senior technical leader to Meta as a sign that, despite public hiring freezes, Big Tech will still aggressively recruit leaders who can accelerate large‑scale model development when compute and talent align.

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