Meta’s Bold Move to Recruit AI Engineers
In a striking revelation, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman disclosed that Meta has been offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million to OpenAI employees in an effort to recruit top artificial intelligence talent. Speaking on the “Uncapped” podcast hosted by his brother, Altman stated that Meta’s recruitment efforts include compensation packages exceeding $100 million per year, underlining the intense battle for AI expertise across tech giants.
The AI Talent War Heats Up
Altman said, “They started making giant offers to a lot of people on our team.” He emphasized that these astronomical incentives reflect the current state of the AI talent race, where elite engineers and researchers are being courted like professional athletes. This reflects a broader industry belief that the success or failure of AI companies can hinge on a few key individuals.
OpenAI Employees Holding the Line
Despite the allure of massive compensation, Altman noted that none of OpenAI’s top talent have accepted Meta’s offers so far. “At least, so far, none of our best people have decided to take them up on that,” he said. The loyalty of OpenAI’s core team suggests a strong internal culture and commitment to its mission, even amid fierce external competition.
Meta’s Superintelligence Ambitions
Meta’s aggressive hiring strategy comes as it builds its new superintelligence division, a clear attempt to catch up with rivals like OpenAI and Google. Just days before Altman’s podcast comments, Meta invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI, a leading data-labeling startup, and appointed its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead its superintelligence team.
Competitive Pressure Mounts in the AI Sector
Altman remarked that Meta sees OpenAI as its biggest competitor in the race to build artificial general intelligence. Meanwhile, Meta’s open-source AI efforts have recently slowed due to staff exits and delays in launching new models, giving competitors like DeepSeek and OpenAI a potential advantage.
Meta Declines to Comment
As of now, Meta has not responded to requests for comment, and Reuters has been unable to independently verify Altman’s claims. However, the escalating competition and multi-billion-dollar investments by major players underscore the high stakes involved in the future of AI innovation.
