The global AI arms race has entered cutthroat territory, with tech titans resorting to unprecedented tactics to poach elite talent seen as critical to the future of superintelligence.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has pulled back the curtain on Meta’s aggressive recruitment blitz, revealing that the Facebook parent is dangling jaw-dropping signing bonuses — some as high as $100 million — in a bid to lure OpenAI’s top engineers.
“They started making giant offers to a lot of people on our team,” Altman said on The Uncapped Podcast hosted by his brother on June 17. “Like $100 million signing bonuses, and more than that in annual compensation.”
For now, Altman noted, his top talent has declined the offers — but the high-stakes tug-of-war underscores the escalating ruthlessness of Silicon Valley’s AI race.
Meta’s talent offensive comes amid its ambitious push into AI superintelligence. The company recently poured $14.3 billion into data-labeling firm Scale AI and tapped its founder, Alexandr Wang, to lead its newly formed superintelligence division.
“I’ve heard that Meta thinks of us as their biggest competitor,” Altman added, signaling a sharpening rivalry between OpenAI and Meta as they jockey for AI dominance.
While Meta once held early momentum in open-source AI, recent setbacks — including key staff departures and delays in next-generation model releases — have allowed rivals like Google, China’s DeepSeek, and OpenAI to surge ahead.
The battle for AI talent is beginning to resemble professional sports free agency, where superstar engineers — viewed as potentially decisive in shaping the trajectory of the AI revolution — are courted with astronomical offers.
Meta declined to comment on Altman’s disclosures. Reuters has not independently verified the recruitment claims.
