The battle for artificial intelligence (AI) supremacy has escalated to new heights, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealing that Meta has offered staggering bonuses up to $100 million to entice OpenAI employees to jump ship. The revelation underscores the intensifying competition among tech giants to secure the industry’s brightest minds as the race to dominate generative AI accelerates.
Speaking at a recent event, Altman highlighted the growing practice of offering massive individual incentives to key AI researchers, likening the situation to a professional sports draft. “These offers aren’t just hypothetical,” Altman stated. “People are being offered $50 million, $100 million to leave and go somewhere else. And that’s real.”
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly expanding its superintelligence research division in an aggressive effort to catch up with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. Its attempts to poach talent from OpenAI suggest just how central top AI engineers have become to the strategic direction and valuation of tech companies.
The stakes are high. Generative AI is poised to revolutionize everything from search engines to personal assistants, enterprise software, and content creation. In this context, the most skilled individuals in AI—those capable of designing and refining cutting-edge models—are seen as irreplaceable assets.
Meta has not commented directly on the reported offers, but the company has made no secret of its commitment to expanding its AI capabilities. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously emphasized the importance of building open-source AI models and recently announced a restructuring that includes a more focused push toward artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Meanwhile, OpenAI has tried to retain its top talent by offering equity in the company and a mission-driven environment focused on ensuring safe and beneficial AI. Still, with offers reaching nine figures, even the most loyal employees may find themselves reconsidering.
As the AI arms race heats up, it’s clear that the fight for talent could be just as consequential as the competition to build the next breakthrough model.
