In a striking claim highlighting the fierce competition for top talent in the artificial intelligence sector, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has alleged that rival tech giant Meta offered his employees signing bonuses as high as $100 million in an attempt to poach them.

Speaking on the “Uncapped” podcast hosted by his brother, Jack, on Tuesday, Altman revealed the aggressive recruitment tactics allegedly employed by Mark Zuckerberg’s company.

“They started making giant offers to a lot of people on our team,” Altman stated. “You know, like $100 million signing bonuses.”

Despite the staggering sums, Altman asserted that Meta's efforts to lure away his top researchers and engineers have so far been unsuccessful. “None of our best people have decided to take them up on that,” he said on the podcast.

Meta has declined to comment on Altman's allegations.

The OpenAI chief also offered a pointed critique of Meta's approach to artificial intelligence, suggesting the aggressive hiring strategy stems from internal struggles. “Their current AI efforts have not worked as well as they have hoped and I respect being aggressive and continuing to try new things,” Altman commented.

He further distinguished his company's culture from Meta's, stating, “There’s many things I respect about Meta as a company, but I don’t think they’re a company that’s great at innovation. I think we understand a lot of things they don’t.”

Altman's claims surface amid a backdrop of intensified efforts by Meta to establish itself as a leader in the AI race, a field currently dominated by OpenAI and its groundbreaking ChatGPT. Reports from Bloomberg and The New York Times indicate that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is personally spearheading a recruitment drive for a new team dedicated to achieving "superintelligence"—AI systems that can surpass human cognitive abilities.

According to these reports, Zuckerberg's frustration with Meta's progress has led him to personally meet with AI experts and even reorganize the company's Menlo Park headquarters to position the new AI team in close proximity to his own office.

This push into AI has been a multi-year, mixed-success endeavor for Meta, which has sharpened its focus and intensity following the massive leaps in AI advancement demonstrated by competitors like OpenAI. Last week, in a significant move to bolster its AI ambitions, Meta announced a $14.3 billion investment for a 49% stake in the data-labeling company Scale AI, a deal that includes bringing its founder Alexandr Wang and some of his team into the fold at Meta.

The alleged multi-million dollar offers underscore the escalating "talent war" in Silicon Valley, where a small pool of elite AI researchers is seen as critical to unlocking the next generation of technology, prompting companies to go to extraordinary lengths to secure their expertise.

Total views: 981