Andrew Tulloch, Poster Child for Out-of-Control AI Spending, Reportedly Quits Meta

Andrew Tulloch, Poster Child for Out-of-Control AI Spending, Reportedly Quits Meta

AI researcher Andrew Tulloch has quit Meta, according to a report by Semafor. Tulloch is a legend in Silicon Valley for supposedly rejecting a world-historically huge pay package from Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg.

Timing of Departure

Tulloch reportedly timed his departure for the day after a major AI product release from the company. Yesterday, Meta released Muse, an OpenClaw-like agentic AI platform with coding and computer use capabilities. Muse is marketed to mainstream tech users rather than developers or AI specialists.

No reason is known for Tulloch's departure, nor is there any word on where he's headed.

Background

• Grew up in: Perth, Australia
• Education: Studied math at the University of Sydney, as well as at Cambridge
• Role at Meta: "Working on superintelligence"
• Lab: TBD lab within Meta's Superintelligence Labs, described by Semafor as the "center" of Meta's AI operation
• Reportedly worked under: Alexandr Wang, Meta's billionaire AI chief and co-founder and former CEO of Scale AI

The Famous Pay Package Story

A report from about a year ago in the Wall Street Journal tells the supposed story that made Tulloch famous:

1. As part of his quest to catch up to his AI competitors, Mark Zuckerberg tried to convince Thinking Machines Lab - co-founded by Tulloch and OpenAI former CTO Mira Murati - to be acquired by Meta.
2. When that didn't work, Zuckerberg turned to the Thinking Machines staff, eventually offering another co-founder, Tulloch, a pay package that - depending on bonuses and stock performance - could have been worth $1.5 billion over six years.

Andy Stone, a Meta spokesperson, denies this outright and calls the report on the offer "inaccurate and ridiculous."

Actual Hiring at Meta

About ten months ago, Tulloch took the job at Meta after all. It's not known how much he got paid.

Gizmodo reached out to Meta for comment on Tulloch's apparent departure. We will update if we hear back.