Core Viewpoint - The departure of Rishabh Agarwal from Meta has raised concerns about employee retention and morale within the company, especially as he was a key figure in the reinforcement learning domain and had made significant contributions during his tenure [1][3][15]. Group 1: Rishabh Agarwal's Background and Contributions - Rishabh Agarwal has a strong academic and professional background in reinforcement learning, with over 10,000 citations of his work and an h-index of 34 [5][6]. - He was involved in the development of significant models such as Gemini 1.5 and Gemma 2 during his time at Google and later at Meta [3][11]. - His paper "Deep Reinforcement Learning at the Edge of the Statistical Precipice" won the NeurIPS Outstanding Paper Award in 2021, highlighting his expertise in the field [11][13]. Group 2: Implications of His Departure - Agarwal's exit is seen as part of a broader trend of experienced employees leaving Meta, which may be linked to internal conflicts over compensation disparities between new hires and long-term staff [15][17]. - The departure of Agarwal and other senior employees could impact Meta's research capabilities and innovation in artificial intelligence [1][15]. - There are speculations that Agarwal may pursue entrepreneurial ventures, indicating a potential shift in the competitive landscape of AI research [14]. Group 3: Company Culture and Employee Morale - The recruitment drive at Meta has reportedly created friction among employees, leading to threats of resignation from some researchers [17]. - The situation reflects a challenging environment for Meta as it attempts to balance attracting new talent while retaining its existing workforce [17].