When Mark Zuckerberg decided to launch his quest for the metaverse in 2021, he threw fistfuls of cash at the effort. Meta’s boss is now repeating the act, this time with generative artificial intelligence (AI). Hot on the heels of what may be the world’s most expensive acquihire—a $14.3bn deal to buy 49% of Scale AI, a data-labelling firm whose main asset is Alexandr Wang, its 28-year-old founder—people close to the matter say Mr Zuckerberg is planning to offer more than $1bn combined for two of Silicon Valley’s hottest AI brain boxes, who would work under Mr Wang. It marks the start of a reset of Meta’s generative-AI ambitions.