Mark Zuckerberg says researchers at his charity have said 'No' to more space and employees, they want …

Mark Zuckerberg has shared an update on his charity organisation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). Researchers at the organisation that is run by Facebook founder and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are now prioritising computing power, specifically GPUs, over additional lab space and employees to advance their science and AI-focused mission.

Speaking at "The a16Z Podcast", Chan, who is also a paediatrician, said: “We are not expanding a lot of square footage, per se, but we're expanding our compute," referring to CZI's investment in Biohub. Explaining the situation, Zuckerberg added: “The researchers, they don't want employees working for them, they don't want space, they just want GPUs.”Chan further clarified the shift in research needs, saying, "In a sense, that's new lab space. It's much more expensive than wet lab space."

This emphasis on computing resources reflects a changing landscape in modern research.

What Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan said about recruiting more people to CZI’s Biohub project

When asked whether they plan to hire more people at “the Biohub proper” or expand through a “network model” with additional sites, Zuckerberg said it will likely involve both approaches. He noted that CZI has added new biohubs and is building a central AI team.Earlier this month, Zuckerberg and Chan announced that CZI would shift its focus and place greater priority on its work with Biohub, which, on the same day, said it is partnering with EvolutionaryScale to use AI in its efforts to address human disease.

According to Biohub, its compute capacity will increase to 10,000 GPUs by 2028. Chan said during the episode that CZI currently operates a cluster with 1,000 GPUs and mentioned plans to reach “the 10,000 range.”Previously, Chan explained that the philanthropy aims to attract bioresearchers by providing access to computing resources rather than offering salaries on par with Big Tech.In 2015, when Zuckerberg and Chan founded CZI, the organisation focused on education, public policy, and curing disease. Over the past few years, it has shifted toward a science-centred mission, and Zuckerberg recently said the organisation is now “going all in on AI-powered biology.”This month, CZI listed five AI-related job openings on its website, along with additional roles at Biohub, including a senior director of AI infrastructure and engineering.