The AI expertise wars are heating up as Meta makes an attempt to poach expertise from OpenAI with $100 million signing bonuses and even larger salaries — however OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the corporate’s “greatest folks” have turned down Meta’s supply.
On an episode of the “Uncapped” podcast that aired on Tuesday, Altman, 40, spoke candidly about Meta’s efforts to recruit OpenAI researchers with “large affords.” Whereas Meta’s efforts have been unsuccessful to date, Altman expressed disbelief on the nine-figure signing bonuses and salaries. The typical worker at OpenAI makes $1.13 million per 12 months, in response to Ranges.fyi.
“They [Meta] began making these large affords to lots of people on our group,” Altman mentioned within the podcast interview. “$100 million signing bonuses, greater than that comp [compensation] per 12 months. It’s loopy. I am actually glad that, at the least to date, none of our greatest folks have determined to take them up on that.”
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Altman mentioned that the rationale OpenAI researchers selected to remain on the startup as a substitute of transferring to larger salaries at Meta was as a result of they suppose OpenAI has “a a lot better shot” of reaching superintelligence, or the purpose the place AI surpasses human intelligence in reminiscence, reasoning, and data.
He mentioned that OpenAI had created a “particular” kind of tradition that wasn’t primarily based on excessive upfront compensation however on the work and the mission of the startup. OpenAI’s mission of growing AI to learn “all of humanity” comes first, with the monetary incentives flowing from reaching that mission, Altman mentioned.
“I hope that we might be the most effective place on this planet to do [AI] analysis,” Altman asserted.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Picture by Justin Sullivan/Getty Photographs
Meta has just lately began assembling a 50-person group, the Superintelligence lab, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 41, is reportedly overseeing the hiring. Based on a Bloomberg report final week, Zuckerberg has been providing AI researchers compensation packages starting from seven to 9 figures to affix the group.
Zuckerberg needs to tug forward of rivals like OpenAI and Google and make Meta lead the race to realize superintelligence, in response to the report.
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Nonetheless, Meta nonetheless seems to be shedding AI expertise. Deedy Das, a principal at enterprise capital agency Menlo Companions, wrote on X that he had heard of three instances final week of Meta shedding researchers to OpenAI and Anthropic regardless of providing them greater than $2 million per 12 months.
“The AI expertise wars are completely ridiculous,” Das wrote.
Meta is presently providing $2M+/yr in affords for AI expertise and nonetheless shedding them to OpenAI and Anthropic. Heard ~3 such instances this week.
The AI expertise wars are completely ridiculous.
Right this moment, Anthropic has the very best ~80% retention 2 years in and is the #1 (massive) firm prime AI… pic.twitter.com/YSv5UNV5H2
— Deedy (@deedydas) June 10, 2025
Meta has additionally just lately made a hefty funding in trade for recent expertise. The corporate introduced final week that it was investing $14.3 billion into information labeling startup Scale AI, in return for a 49% stake within the startup and the acquisition of expertise. Scale AI’s 28-year-old CEO Alexandr Wang will reportedly be part of Meta’s superintelligence group in a prime management function.
Each Meta and OpenAI have substantial consumer bases. Zuckerberg mentioned in Might that Meta’s AI assistant has one billion month-to-month lively customers. In the meantime, OpenAI mentioned in late March that it had 500 million weekly lively customers.
The AI expertise wars are heating up as Meta makes an attempt to poach expertise from OpenAI with $100 million signing bonuses and even larger salaries — however OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the corporate’s “greatest folks” have turned down Meta’s supply.
On an episode of the “Uncapped” podcast that aired on Tuesday, Altman, 40, spoke candidly about Meta’s efforts to recruit OpenAI researchers with “large affords.” Whereas Meta’s efforts have been unsuccessful to date, Altman expressed disbelief on the nine-figure signing bonuses and salaries. The typical worker at OpenAI makes $1.13 million per 12 months, in response to Ranges.fyi.
“They [Meta] began making these large affords to lots of people on our group,” Altman mentioned within the podcast interview. “$100 million signing bonuses, greater than that comp [compensation] per 12 months. It’s loopy. I am actually glad that, at the least to date, none of our greatest folks have determined to take them up on that.”
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