Mark Zuckerberg is throwing big money around to lure top talent to Meta’s new superintelligence lab. We’re talking up to $300 million over four years for some folks, with over $100 million in the first year alone. Meta’s been making these eye-watering offers to at least ten OpenAI staffers. But don’t get too carried away by the numbers; hype like this isn’t unheard of in tech recruitment. Equity comes into play here, with some stock vesting immediately, which isn’t surprising if you’re trying to poach high-caliber talent.
Some OpenAI employees are weighing the fat paychecks against what they can actually achieve at Meta versus their current gig. It’s a classic case of money versus impact. Meta’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, calls the rumors exaggerated, which is par for the course in these corporate tug-of-wars. Meanwhile, a senior engineer at Meta confirms their pay is around $850,000 per year—a hefty sum but apparently not on par with the latest offers. Those a tier above, E7s, average $1.54 million annually, according to Levels.FYI data.
Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, is quick to temper expectations, saying not everyone’s getting a $100 million deal. The market’s hot, but not that hot, he says. Leadership roles command the big bucks, but Meta’s offers aren’t all cash; they’re a mix of various compensations. OpenAI isn’t sitting idle either, countering these offers to retain its talent.
For context, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, pocketed $79.1 million in 2024, mostly in stock, while Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, made around $39.4 million. So, these Meta packages, though astronomical, fit within the tech industry’s playbook for top-tier roles.
Mark Zuckerberg’s been busy, not only with paychecks but also assembling a team for Meta’s superintelligence efforts. Alexandr Wang from Scale AI is now Meta’s chief AI officer, joined by Nat Friedman from GitHub. Together, they lead the Meta Superintelligence Labs. Interestingly, neither are traditional researchers, and none of the OpenAI staffers who switched to Meta saw the $300 million offer, which makes you wonder about the real value of these headline numbers.
Zuckerberg assures new recruits that resources won’t be an issue at Meta, a tempting promise in AI where hardware like GPUs is gold. OpenAI folks have complained about resource bottlenecks, so this might be Meta’s ace up its sleeve. Zuckerberg’s already snagged seven from OpenAI, causing a stir and prompting OpenAI’s Mark Chen to lament the poaching, likening it to a burglary. Chen insists OpenAI won’t compromise fairness while adjusting its compensation packages. CEO Sam Altman isn’t thrilled either, slamming Meta’s tactics in internal notes while hinting at OpenAI’s own moves to retain its talent.
Meta and OpenAI are in a high-stakes chess game over AI talent, typical of tech’s cutthroat environment. With OpenAI hinting at more supercomputers coming online, this tug-of-war is far from over. Expect more moves as both giants jockey for position in the ever-evolving AI landscape.
