Meta Establishes Dedicated Hardware Team Within Superintelligence Labs To Develop AI-Native Devices; Veteran Engineer Rui Xu Joins

Meta is reportedly establishing a dedicated hardware team within its Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) to develop a new category of AI-native devices. According to internal reports, the company has hired veteran engineer Rui Xu to lead this division, signaling a shift beyond its existing Reality Labs portfolio of smart glasses and VR headsets. The initiative, led by MSL chief and former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, aims to create "always-on" personal AI agents that exist outside the traditional smartphone ecosystem.

The development comes as the tech industry pivots toward specialized AI hardware. While Meta’s Reality Labs continues to focus on the Metaverse and augmented reality, MSL is tasked with prototyping software and hardware that can "see what you see and hear what you hear." Several employees from the Reality Labs division have reportedly transitioned to MSL to begin early-stage prototyping, utilizing existing hardware to test new AI-centric operating systems. Meta Layoffs: Tech Giant Lays Off Hundreds in Silicon Valley As AI Push Raises Fears of 20% Workforce Reduction.

Veteran Leadership and Strategic Hires

Meta has tapped Rui Xu to head the new hardware team, bringing a wealth of experience in high-volume consumer electronics. Xu was previously the hardware lead at Dreamer, an AI agent startup recently acquired by Meta. His professional background includes serving as the COO of robotics firm K-Scale and holding senior management roles at ByteDance, Xiaomi, and Lenovo. Notably, during his tenure at ByteDance, Xu led a laboratory responsible for shipping millions of smart devices in the Chinese market.

The recruitment of Xu is seen as a move to bridge the gap between sophisticated AI research and mass-market hardware production. He will work closely with Nat Friedman, who oversees products and applied research at MSL. Friedman’s previous investment in K-Scale through his AI Grant program suggests a long-standing interest in the intersection of robotics and personal AI hardware.

The Race for AI-Native Peripherals

Meta’s push into AI hardware aligns with a broader industry trend where major players are racing to move AI from apps to dedicated physical devices. OpenAI is currently collaborating with legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive via his startup, IO, to develop ChatGPT-powered hardware. Simultaneously, Apple is rumored to be working on a compact "AI Pin"—a circular, disc-shaped device equipped with cameras and microphones—intended to function as a personal assistant that attaches to clothing.

During a recent discussion on the future of technology, MSL head Alexandr Wang suggested that personal AI agents will eventually inhabit a "constellation of peripherals." The goal is to move beyond the phone to devices that offer a deeper level of assistance by constantly observing and processing the user’s environment in real-time.

Integration with Meta Superintelligence Labs

MSL was launched last year as Meta’s high-profile division for advanced AI research, operating somewhat independently of the company's core social media engineering teams. By placing a hardware team within this research-heavy lab, Meta appears to be prioritizing a "software-first" hardware approach. This allows the team to build devices specifically optimized for the large language models (LLMs) and "superintelligent" agents the lab is currently developing. Layoffs To Hit Danube Group? Billionaire Rizwan Sajan Guarantees Job Security for Over 6,000 Danube Employees, Says ‘No Layoffs in Danube Group’.

While Meta has not officially announced the specific form factor of its new device, the collaboration between Reality Labs and MSL indicates that the product will likely leverage Meta’s existing supply chain for sensors and optics. Industry observers speculate that the first prototypes could emerge in 2027, potentially challenging the dominance of the smartphone as the primary interface for digital interaction.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2026 03:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).