Amid the intense race for AI dominance, Meta (formerly Facebook) has entered into an indirect showdown with OpenAI by offering astronomical job offers to the latter’s engineers. But it seems that money alone isn’t enough to buy loyalty, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Hundreds of Millions in Offers: Meta Joins the Race
In a recent interview on Bill Gates’ podcast Unconfuse Me, Sam Altman revealed that Meta has offered some OpenAI employees salaries and signing bonuses exceeding $100 million per person.
> “I never thought I’d say this one day, but yes, the offers went over $100 million per employee,” Altman said.
These moves come as part of Meta’s efforts to strengthen its internal team focused on developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), especially after its language models (like LLaMA 3 and 4) fell behind competitors from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
Massive Investments... and a Shortage of Talent
To achieve its goals, Meta has recently spent over $14 billion to acquire a large stake in Scale AI, and it also hired its founder, Alexandr Wang, into a leading role in its AI efforts.
However, the real battle isn't just financial. It’s being fought in a hyper-competitive market with limited high-level talent—particularly in fields like large language models, AI safety, and advanced machine learning.
Altman: “Culture and Challenge Matter More Than Money”
Despite the huge financial incentives, Altman emphasized that “none of OpenAI’s top talent agreed to leave the company,” stressing that the key to retaining the team isn't money, but rather a shared culture, long-term vision, and scientific challenge.
He added:
> “Working at OpenAI isn’t just a job—it’s a mission. Everyone here feels like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.”
He also warned that over-reliance on financial rewards could harm the culture of innovation and turn the work environment into a purely transactional one—moving away from creativity and values.
What Does This Talent War Mean for the Future?
As competition between tech giants heats up, 2025 is likely to witness more aggressive moves to attract top minds. And if money isn’t enough, perhaps mission, passion, and scientific integrity will be the winning hand.
In the end, today’s AI race isn’t just about who owns the best algorithm, but also about who has the best team—and can keep it.
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