Pranav Dixit
Meta Correspondent at Business Insider. Previously: India Tech Correspondent at BuzzFeed News. 2022 Nieman Fellow. Accidental expat. Send me tips securely on Signal: pranavdixit.04. Your identify is safe with me.
- 🚨 Fun Friday scoop: Amazon employees are coping with looming layoffs by roasting Jeff Bezos' two-pizza rule in a 26,000-person internal Slack channel (among other memes). Story here: www.businessinsider.com/amazon-emplo...
- Sorry to see the layoffs in Meta’s Reality Labs today. I know how destabilizing this can be. If any current or former employees want to share anything, I’m listening. My Signal is +1-408-905-9124. I’ve consistently broken news about Meta, and I take great care to protect sources’ identities.
- Meta Reality Labs head Andrew Bosworth has urged employees to show up in person to a "most important" all-hands next week. This has fueled a lot of speculation, including whether Boz is leaving (Meta told me he isn't). Meta employees can reach me privately on Signal at +1408-905-9124.
- 🚨 One last scoop to close out 2025: Amazon is letting visa workers stranded in India work remotely until March — as long as they don't code or talk to customers, according to an internal memo I got. Read the full memo here: www.businessinsider.com/amazon-visa-...
- What a year! I started a job I love, published a LOT of scoops about Meta (and a few other things!) all year round, felt like I finally found my footing in America for the first time since I moved, crossed a BIG immigration milestone (more on this later) and became a DAD!
- Internally, employees face uncertainty about whether the planned Reality Labs cost cuts will ultimately lead to layoffs. Directors are telling employees that most of the reductions will come from operating expenses. www.businessinsider.com/meta-job-cut...
- Instagram chief Adam Mosseri orders staff back to the office five days a week in 2026. Read the memo. www.businessinsider.com/instagram-ch...
- 🚨 Scoop: I got internal Meta documents that show how the company’s newest product, the Vibes AI video feed, is performing. The data reveals where it’s growing, where usage is already declining, and a lot more. www.businessinsider.com/meta-vibes-a...
- Meta's product managers are vibe coding prototype apps and showing them to Mark Zuckerberg. www.businessinsider.com/meta-vibe-co...
- Nothing reinforces the Silicon Valley monoculture quite like your Uber driver casually chatting about about GTC and “Jensen” on your ride home.
- If you were part of the Meta Superintelligence Labs layoffs today, I want to hear from you. Message me securely on Signal at +1408-905-9124.
- Get you a newsroom that lets you write about both Meta and Metallica.
- I grew up in 90s India where Western bands rarely toured. So my first concert being Metallica — at Salesforce’s Dreamforce — felt gloriously incongruous. If you can’t make B2B exciting, I guess you can at least make it loud. Blogged about it here. www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-d...
- I grew up in 90s India where Western bands rarely toured. So my first concert being Metallica — at Salesforce’s Dreamforce — felt gloriously incongruous. If you can’t make B2B exciting, I guess you can at least make it loud. Blogged about it here. www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-d...
- I need something like a lightweight CRM to manage sources and broader contacts and connections. Does anyone have ideas on how to manage this?
- I need something like a lightweight CRM to manage sources and broader contacts and connections. Does anyone have ideas on how to manage this?
- 🚨 A legal-y scoop: New filings show Meta is fighting to block AI chatbot documents and whistleblower testimony in a major child-safety case heading to trial in New Mexico. www.businessinsider.com/meta-legal-b...
- Today I realized I won’t be able to afford a house in the Bay Area anytime soon. I’ve only been here three years — one of the few immigrants in journalism — so maybe I was jumping the gun. But one day. One day. I’ve got the immigrant zeal to make it all worth it.
- Reposted by Pranav DixitThis post appeared under this Techmeme headline:
- 🚨 Scoop: Internal memos show Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs is steering teams from slow internal systems to faster third-party tools like Vercel to speed up AI development. Executives say Meta’s own tech “is not conducive to vibe coding.” www.businessinsider.com/meta-superin...
- 🚨 Scoop: Internal memos show Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs is steering teams from slow internal systems to faster third-party tools like Vercel to speed up AI development. Executives say Meta’s own tech “is not conducive to vibe coding.” www.businessinsider.com/meta-superin...
- Do you work for Meta Superintelligence Labs? I'd love to chat with you. I promise to keep your identity absolutely safe. My Signal number is +1408-905-9124 (or scan this QR code).
- 🚨 Scoop with @charlesrollet.bsky.social: Intuitive Surgical, a $150-billion Silicon Valley medtech company with 13,000 employees, has paused job offers to all candidates who need H-1B sponsorship because of the recent Presidential proclamation. www.businessinsider.com/intuitive-si...
- I am at @stanfordcyber.bsky.social's Trust and Safety Research Conference today. Say hi if you're around!
- 🚨 Scoop with @charlesrollet.bsky.social: Meta blew a Senate deadline to produce AI chatbot records tied to kids’ safety. “There’s no upside to meeting the deadline, no consequence for missing it, and a lot more options from buying time," experts said. www.businessinsider.com/meta-misses-...
- 🚨 48 hours of chaos. A scramble for flights. Tech workers walking off planes. Immigration lawyers working nonstop. The White House’s $100K H-1B fee threw Silicon Valley into turmoil overnight. Big new feature from me + my dream team at @businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com/trump-h-1b-v...
- 🚨 Scoop: Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and JPMorgan are among the companies telling H-1B employees to return to the US within 24 hours after Trump's surprise proclamation, per employees and internal communications reviewed by @businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-emp...
- 🚨 The WhatsApp whistleblower says Meta’s performance review system (PSC) was weaponized against him. He alleges PSC pushed employees to: • Do “busy work” + Band-Aid fixes to boost ratings • Manipulate “user harm” metrics to hide compromised accounts www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-sec...
- 🚨 Scoop: Meta is paying contractors up to $55/hr to build AI chatbot characters for India, Indonesia, and Mexico. Applicants need 6 years of character-creation experience. In Indonesia, two of the most popular bots are “Lonely Woman” and “Deviant Male.” www.businessinsider.com/meta-hires-c...
- 👶🏼 My baby was born just as Zuck started throwing millions at AI talent and shaking up Meta’s AI org. I’m back from parental leave, sleep-deprived but scoop-hungry. Current/former Meta folks: 📱 Signal: +1 408-905-9124 (or scan the QR code) ✉️ pranavdixit@protonmail.com
- Seattle. Brown friend and I are struggling to get the Sheraton guests-only entrance open with our keycards. White couple lets us in. “Thank you so much!” we say. “Oh, you're fine, it’s not like we’re letting a bunch of terrorists in,” they laugh. Weird. Icky. Hurtful.
- Meta: Record revenue. Me: Record number of diapers changed in a single day. Everyone’s doing numbers this quarter. (OK, back to parental leave)
- Excited to be speaking at #AAJA25 in Seattle later this week! I’ll be joining a panel about how India and its diaspora are covered in today's geopolitical climate, drawing from my experience reporting on how Silicon Valley is reshaping South Asia. Say hi if you're in Seattle!
- ♥️ Some huge personal news: I became a dad to a beautiful baby boy earlier this month! His birth marks the culmination of a long journey that has taken us across two continents, and extreme highs and lows. I’ll be out on parental leave for the next few weeks as we soak it all in.
- I retrofitted Apple CarPlay in my Mazda 6 over the long weekend, and I feel incredibly accomplished.
- "If this team delivers disproportionately, we all benefit via stocks," one Meta engineer told me about the Superintelligence hires. New from me and @amandahoover.bsky.social: Big Tech is shifting: outsize pay for a few, growing uncertainty for everyone else. www.businessinsider.com/silicon-vall...
- Meta may be paying millions to lure top AI talent, but how much is it paying the rest of its workforce, including engineers, researchers, and product managers? My colleagues and I dug into the company's latest H1-B filings to find out. www.businessinsider.com/meta-salarie...
- Meta employees, I'd love to do a bit of a vibe check -- completely anonymously -- for a story. My Signal is +1408-905-9124. Ping me, please?
- Meta's Threads finally has DMs — nearly two years after launch. I spoke to Head of Product Emily Dalton Smith about why it took so long, what’s next, and whether private messaging changes the vibe.
- 🚨 Scoop with Hugh Langley: Mark Zuckerberg just announced a major reorg of Meta’s AI efforts. An internal memo we got lays out plans for a new “Superintelligence” lab, key hires from OpenAI and Google, and what’s next for Llama. Read the full memo here: www.businessinsider.com/meta-ceo-mar...
- Reposted by Pranav DixitWhatsApp has become a kind of AI marketplace where chatbots like ChatGPT, Meta AI, and Perplexity jockey for users' attention (Pranav Dixit/Business Insider) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
- New: Meta’s biggest AI chatbot rivals ChatGPT and Perplexity are competing for attention inside WhatsApp, the app where Meta AI is used the most. www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-comp...
- Lose a blue check, gain a blue check.
- 🚨New: WhatsApp is rolling out ads and paid subscriptions, its biggest monetization push yet. The app that once swore off ads is now opening the door to creators, signaling a new phase in Meta’s plan to make messaging a real business. www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-upd...
- Got invited for drinks with a group of West Coast tech reporters tonight. It made me feel like I belonged, like I’d finally broken in. I don’t usually talk about this, but in the world of American journalism, I often still feel like an outsider. Tonight was different.
- 🚨Scoop: Meta is turning to AI models from rivals like Anthropic to help its engineers code better. www.businessinsider.com/meta-anthrop...
- Facebook's ad business isn’t powered by Gen Z — it’s Gen X. The platform shows the most ads to users over 45, because they’re the ones who click and spend, a new report reveals. www.businessinsider.com/meta-ads-gen...
- Apple's stock dropped minutes into WWDC. Here's why. www.businessinsider.com/apple-wwdc-a...
- OK, I need recommendations for the best AI-related Substacks and other newsletters. Just stuff from independent folks, no "legacy" media.
- Reposted by Pranav DixitMeta's AI team is facing a talent drain, with just three of the 14 authors credited on the landmark 2023 Llama paper still at Meta; several joined Mistral (Pranav Dixit/Business Insider) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
- Of the 14 authors credited on the landmark 2023 paper that introduced Llama to the world, 11 are no longer at Meta. Here’s what they are up to now. www.businessinsider.com/meta-llama-a...
