People walk behind a logo of Meta Platforms company, during a conference in Mumbai, India, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

(Reuters) -Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has appointed insider Vishal Shah to a key artificial intelligence-linked role, heading product management for AI products, the social media giant said on Monday.

The move underscores Big Tech's focus on the booming technology, directing resources and top talent towards AI development. Meta is competing against Microsoft and startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic to build the most sophisticated AI models.

Shah was in charge of product management for Instagram at Meta for over six years, before becoming vice president of Metaverse — the company's concept for a three-dimensional virtual world — in 2021.

The development was first reported by the Financial Times earlier on Monday, citing an internal memo. Shah will report to Meta's head of AI product, Nat Friedman, according to the report.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed Shah's new role but declined to comment on details regarding the appointment when contacted by Reuters.

This marks another reshuffle for Meta's management, after the company last week announced it was cutting around 600 roles in its Superintelligence Labs unit, as it looks to make its AI unit more flexible and responsive.

(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru and Echo Wang in New York; Editing by Alan Barona)