Meta’s Aggressive Recruitment Tactics

In a podcast, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has revealed that Meta has been trying to poach its employees by offering a $100 million bonus if they were to join Meta.

Altman claimed that Meta has been making “giant offers” to a large number of OpenAI employees, but so far, none of the company’s “best people” have accepted these lucrative packages.

He expressed satisfaction that his team remains committed to OpenAI despite the eye-popping incentives, attributing their loyalty to a shared sense of mission and purpose in advancing AI technology.

Zuckerberg’s Personal Involvement

Meta’s recruitment efforts have reportedly escalated to the highest level, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally reaching out to leading researchers and hosting meetings at his private residences in Lake Tahoe and Palo Alto.

Zuckerberg's desperate move comes at a time when Meta’s is attempting to assemble a world-class "superintelligence' team capable of developing artificial general intelligence.

This isn't Zuckerberg's first attempt to convince top talents to jump ship-according to previous reports by The Information, Zuckerberg was sending direct emails and fast-track offers to top AI talents.

However, despite these aggressive overtures, OpenAI’s core research staff have remained steadfast, choosing to stay with their current employer[3].

Meta’s push for AI dominance is further evidenced by the company's recent investments and organizational changes.

Last week, the company announced a $14 billion investment in Scale AI, a data-labeling startup, acquiring a 49% stake and bringing Scale AI’s founder, Alexandr Wang, on board to lead a new “superintelligence” division within Meta.

This move is part of Zuckerberg’s broader vision to position Meta at the forefront of AI innovation, following a series of high-profile departures and setbacks in its own AI research efforts.

The AI Talent War Intensifies

The competition for elite AI talent has reached unprecedented levels, with companies dishing out lucrative compensation packages in the attempts to retain their staff while attracting top talents.

According to industry data compiled by venture capital firm SignalFire, top AI firms are locking in their best researchers with generous incentives and retention packages.

Anthropic leads with an 80% two-year retention rate, followed by Google’s DeepMind at 78% and OpenAI at 67%.

Despite its best efforts, Meta seems to be struggling to keep their staff. It was reported that Meta had spent more than $2 million per year, but that hasn't stopped key personnel from leaving Meta to rival companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Meanwhile, smaller firms such as Hugging Face are also attracting researchers from larger companies, underscoring the fierce and wide-ranging battle for expertise in the AI sector.

Some companies, like Safe Superintelligence (SSI), have reportedly offered $2 million bonuses and equity increases of $20 million or more to retain key staff—a trend that is reshaping the landscape of AI research and development.

The escalating talent war has not gone unnoticed by regulators. Last year, three U.S. Senators raised concerns about the practice of offering massive retention bonuses and equity packages, calling for greater scrutiny in an open letter.