Meta’s VP of AI Research Joelle Pineau Steps Down

Joelle Pineau, Meta’s vice president for AI research, announced on April 1, 2025, that she will step down by the end of May after an eight-year tenure at the company. Pineau has been a key figure in advancing Meta’s open-source AI initiatives, including the development of the large language model Llama. Her departure comes at a time of intense competition in AI development and shortly ahead of Meta’s inaugural LlamaCon AI conference on April 29.

Pineau, who also serves as a computer science professor at McGill University, took the helm of Meta’s AI research division in 2023, succeeding founder Yann LeCun. While no successor has been announced and Meta has yet to comment on her resignation, her exit marks a significant transition period for the company’s AI strategy and research initiatives.