Key Points:
- Rishabh Agarwal quits Meta’s ₹8 cr job after 5 months.
- Contributed to Meta’s superintelligence AI projects.
- Chooses risk and innovation over big tech stability.
In a move that has surprised many in the global tech community, Rishabh Agarwal, an IIT Bombay alumnus and AI researcher, has resigned from his high-paying position at Meta just five months after joining. Agarwal, who was part of the company’s ambitious superintelligence team, was reportedly earning a compensation package valued at around ₹8 crore (approximately one million dollars).
The decision, which Agarwal described as choosing a “different kind of risk,” highlights the growing trend of top-tier AI talent opting for unconventional paths despite lucrative opportunities at leading tech companies.
Resignation Announced on Social Media
Rishabh Agarwal confirmed his exit in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “This is my last week at @AIatMeta. It was a tough decision not to continue with the new Superintelligence TBD lab, especially given the talent and compute density. But after 7.5 years across Google Brain, DeepMind, and Meta, I felt the pull to take on a different kind of risk.”
He also acknowledged that the opportunity to work directly under Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief AI Officer Alexander Wang had been compelling. Zuckerberg himself has often advocated for bold decision-making, once remarking, “In a world that’s changing so fast, the biggest risk you can take is not taking any risk.” Agarwal noted that this philosophy partly guided his own decision to step away.
Contributions to Meta’s Superintelligence Team
During his short tenure, Rishabh Agarwal worked on critical aspects of Meta’s superintelligence initiative, a project Zuckerberg has flagged as one of the company’s key strategic priorities. According to his own summary, he contributed to pushing an 8-bit dense model to approach DeepSeek R1 performance with reinforcement learning (RL) scaling. He also explored the use of synthetic data in mid-training phases and improved on-policy distillation techniques.
Meta’s superintelligence team has been aggressively recruiting talent from rival firms, offering multi-million-dollar contracts to build what many industry observers see as a direct challenge to OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic in the race toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). Agarwal’s departure, therefore, comes as a notable setback for Meta’s efforts.
From IIT Bombay to Global AI Labs
Rishabh Agarwal’s academic and professional journey has been marked by consistent excellence. After securing an impressive All India Rank (AIR) of 33 in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), he pursued computer science engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. He later earned a doctorate in computer science from the Mila-Quebec AI Institute, a leading hub for AI research.
His career has spanned some of the world’s most influential AI labs, including Google Brain as a senior research scientist and DeepMind as a staff research scientist. Before joining Meta in April 2025, he also completed internships at Tower Research Capital, Saavn, and Waymo.
What Comes Next?
While Rishabh Agarwal has not disclosed his next move, his decision to leave a secure, high-paying role suggests he may be venturing into entrepreneurship or independent research. Industry analysts point out that many AI researchers are increasingly choosing to build startups or join smaller, fast-moving labs where they can exert more influence over the direction of innovation.
With AI superintelligence seen as one of the most disruptive technologies on the horizon, Agarwal’s next step will be closely watched. Whether he pursues an entrepreneurial venture, a new research initiative, or a collaborative project outside big tech, his decision underscores the shifting priorities of top AI talent: a search for meaningful risk, rather than just financial reward.
Industry Reactions
The tech community has reacted with curiosity and respect to Agarwal’s announcement. Some view it as a bold career move, aligning with the ethos of innovation that often requires stepping away from conventional success. Others speculate that his departure may reflect broader challenges within Meta’s superintelligence program, which is still in its early stages.
Regardless of the reasoning, Rishabh Agarwal’s departure has sparked discussions about the balance between stability and risk in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.
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