# Meta Poaches Key Stargate Infrastructure Experts from OpenAI and Freezes UK Data Center
Three key Stargate infrastructure specialists—Peter Höschele, Shamez Hemani, and Anuj Saharan—are joining Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL). Höschele handled data center planning since the project's launch, Hemani oversaw compute resource strategy and business development, and Saharan managed supply chains. They are joining MSL's infrastructure division, MSL Infra, led by Vice President Aparna Ramani.
MSL was created in June 2025 following the failure of Llama 4. It is led by Alexander Wong, former CEO of Scale AI, poached by Mark Zuckerberg for $14.3 billion. This is part of Meta's aggressive strategy to bolster its AI infrastructure expertise.
Meta's Massive Investments in Computing
In 2026, Meta plans capex of $115–135 billion—nearly double that of 2025. The bulk of the funds will go toward infrastructure. Recently, MSL released its first model, Muse Spark (formerly Avocado), accelerating development pace.
The tactic of targeted talent poaching from OpenAI continues: Meta offered engineers bonuses up to $100 million. The profiles of the departing managers perfectly match MSL's priorities—data centers, GPUs, and supply logistics.
OpenAI's Response and Strategic Shift
OpenAI responded neutrally: thanked the departing staff and appointed Sachin Katti from Intel as head of its industrial computing division. Previously, the company abandoned building its own data centers in favor of renting from Microsoft Azure, Oracle, and CoreWeave.
Stargate as a legal entity never hired staff or signed construction contracts. This reflects a pivot to cloud computing resources.
- Key Changes at OpenAI:
- Shift to renting instead of owning infrastructure.
- Appointment of Katti to stabilize computing.
- Abandonment of in-house data centers.
Stargate UK Frozen
OpenAI is putting its British Stargate UK division on pause. The project, under a memorandum with the UK government from July 2025, called for 8,000 GPUs in Q1 2026, expanding to 31,000. Possible site: Cobalt Park.
The freeze is officially tied to IPO preparations and cost optimization. The memorandum is non-binding, so no penalties. For the UK, this is a setback in its AI strategy: London positioned the project as a success of national policy.
Key Takeaways
- Meta bolsters MSL Infra by poaching OpenAI data center and GPU experts.
- OpenAI shifts to renting compute power, scrapping Stargate as an independent project.
- Meta's 2026 capex will hit $115–135 billion, focused on AI infrastructure.
- Stargate UK frozen: 8,000 to 31,000 GPUs in doubt due to OpenAI's IPO.
- UK government loses a flagship AI project with no repercussions for OpenAI.
— Editorial Team
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