Meta lets go of Virtue AI hires four months after they joined, citing 'clashing work styles'

Meta is letting go of employees it hired from AI safety startup Virtue AI about four months after they joined the company in June, citing clashing work styles. Semafor reported the news on October 2.

What happened

Axios reported in June that Virtue AI co-founders Bo Li, Dawn Song and Sanmi Koyejo were joining Meta along with other employees from the startup. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Semafor that "unfortunately, the arrangement didn't work out as planned," adding that Meta Superintelligence Labs remains focused on AI safety, alignment and frontier risk.

What Virtue AI does

Virtue AI makes AI security tools for enterprise customers, spanning automated red teaming, runtime guardrails and AI governance. Before the team joined Meta, the startup had done work with Anthropic, OpenAI and the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Why it matters

The departure comes as calls for stronger regulation of frontier AI grow in Washington, and as Meta keeps shaping its strategy around AI and safety. Semafor notes that the departures show Meta is still working out its approach to AI and AI safety.