Meta✴ secured the services of former executives from Google and Stripe who established the AI startup Dreamer, recently launched to develop bespoke AI agents. This team is now joining Meta✴’s Superintelligence Labs division, headed by Alexandr Wang.
Among those making the move is Dreamer’s co-founder, Hugo Barra, who previously oversaw virtual reality (VR) efforts at Meta✴. The transaction is purely for personnel acquisition; Dreamer’s underlying technology is not part of the deal. In an internal memo to staff, which was also shared with Bloomberg, Wang expressed heightened confidence in the advancement of AI agents, stating that Meta✴ is “building agents that are truly personal and always-on, capable of integrating across various devices and wearables.”
CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously highlighted “significant” advancements in this domain, noting that company engineers are already utilizing such agents to assist with coding and other duties. Recall that this follows Meta✴’s December decision to acquire the prominent AI agent developer Manus for $2 billion, intending to integrate its solutions into its operations. Furthermore, early this month, the acquisition of the agent-centric social network Moltbook was announced.
The Dreamer team features established industry veterans. David Singleton previously served as CTO at Stripe and before that as VP of Product Development for Android at Google. Hugo Barra also held a VP role overseeing Android product management at Google before transitioning from Xiaomi to lead Meta✴’s VR unit, which he departed in 2021. Dreamer’s Design Director, Nicholas Jitkoff, was formerly a lead designer for Google Chrome OS.
Reports from 2024 indicated that the AI startup Dreamer successfully raised $56 million at a $500 million valuation, with Wang participating in that investment round. Currently, as reported by Bloomberg, the future of Dreamer’s technology is uncertain following the departure of its key personnel. A Meta✴ representative declined to offer comments on the acquisition.
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