Meta's Alexandr Wang Unhappy With Boss Zuckerberg's Micromanagement, Calls It "Suffocating": Report

Meta's big leap into artificial intelligence is facing internal strain, with reports suggesting tension between CEO Mark Zuckerberg and AI wunderkind Alexandr Wang. Wang, 28, joined Meta earlier this year after the company invested over $14 billion for a 49% stake in his startup, Scale AI. He was expected to lead the charge in reviving Meta's AI efforts. However, according to the Financial Times, Wang has privately expressed frustration with Zuckerberg's deeply involved management approach, describing it as "suffocating".

According to the report, Wang complained to associates that Zuckerberg's "tight grip" on the company's AI efforts is stifling innovation and slowing the team's ability to move quickly. The perceived micromanagement has reportedly created significant tension within Meta's AI division.

This follows a period of internal upheaval, including the departure of longtime chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, who reportedly objected to reporting to Wang and seeing research priorities shifted. Some Meta staff have questioned whether Wang, who is 28 and has a background primarily in AI data services rather than deep research, is "out of his depth" managing teams at a large corporation.

Notably, Zuckerberg brought Wang on board in June 2025 as part of a $14.3 billion deal for a 49% stake in Scale AI. Wang was appointed to lead the newly formed Meta Superintelligence Labs, a division intended to unify all of Meta's AI research and product development.

Tensions have also emerged between Mark Zuckerberg and Nat Friedman, the former GitHub CEO tasked with bringing AI models into Meta's products. Friedman has been under growing pressure to deliver results swiftly, leading to frustration within his team, with some employees feeling that products were being launched prematurely to outpace rivals.

One instance highlighted by the Financial Times was the rushed debut of "Vibes," Meta's AI-powered video feed, which insiders say was accelerated to stay ahead of OpenAI's upcoming Sora platform. As internal pressure mounted, several top executives began departing the company.