Patrick Collison appointed to Meta's AI council

Limerick man joins three others to advice Meta on its AI strategy

Patrick Collison cofounded the payments company Stripe with his brother John. Picture: Alex Flynn/Bloomberg

Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison has been appointed to Mark Zuckerberg's new AI advisory council.

The Limerick man is one of four appointed to the unpaid position. The Meta CEO created the council — a group that will meet periodically with Meta’s management team and offer guidance on the company’s artificial intelligence and technology advancements.

The Meta Advisory Group, as it will be called, will be made up of Collison; former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman; Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke; and Charlie Songhurst, an investor and former Microsoft executive. 

“I’ve come to deeply respect this group of people and their achievements in their respective areas, and I’m grateful that they’re willing to share their perspectives with Meta at such an important time as we take on new opportunities with AI and the metaverse,” Zuckerberg wrote in the internal note to employees, which was reviewed by Bloomberg.

“This advisory group is tasked with offering insights and recommendations on technological advancements, innovation and strategic growth opportunities,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

The group’s creation comes as Meta seeks to reinvigorate its drive into AI-focused products. Those include hardware devices, like the Quest virtual reality headsets and Ray-Ban smartglasses, but also software products, like Meta’s AI assistant, which the company is offering to consumers through several of its apps.

Zuckerberg told investors during Meta’s earnings call last month the company would increase its capital expenditures this year to push harder into AI development. 

“We’ve gotten more optimistic and ambitious on AI,” Zuckerberg said in late April. “We’re at a place where we’ve shown that we can build leading models and be the leading AI company in the world. And that opens up a lot of additional opportunities beyond just ones that are the most obvious ones for us.”

It’s not clear how often the product advisory group will meet, though Zuckerberg said it would advise Meta’s management team “periodically” moving forward.

Patrick Collison cofounded the payments company Stripe with his brother John. The firm has grown to become a dominant player in the global sector.

- Additional reporting Bloomberg