Meta vs OpenAI: Talent Battle Heats Up

Meta’s bold attempts to recruit top AI talent with jaw-dropping offers have largely fallen flat, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Speaking on a podcast with his brother, Jack Altman, the OpenAI chief confirmed that Meta has been dangling compensation packages worth over $100 million in front of OpenAI and Google DeepMind employees, but to little effect.

With ambitions to accelerate its AI superintelligence efforts, Meta, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has assembled a new team under the leadership of Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI. As part of the push, employees are being offered the chance to work near Zuckerberg himself, with deals reportedly including massive signing bonuses and salaries exceeding $100 million annually.

Among those reportedly targeted were OpenAI’s Noam Brown and Google’s Koray Kavukcuoglu. Yet, despite Meta’s aggressive strategy, neither took the bait.

Altman: “None of Our Best People Have Left”

Sam Altman didn’t hold back on the podcast, stating,

“[Meta has] started making these, like, giant offers to a lot of people on our team.” He added, “I’m really happy that, at least so far, none of our best people have decided to take him up on that.”

According to Altman, OpenAI’s culture and mission remain its biggest assets. He believes the shared vision of achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) motivates his team more than financial incentives, a key reason they choose to stay.

Altman contrasted OpenAI’s innovation-driven environment with Meta’s compensation-centric approach, suggesting that offering huge paychecks doesn’t guarantee meaningful breakthroughs.

He remarked, “Meta’s current AI efforts have not worked as well as they hoped,” and while he acknowledged that Meta has achieved many things, he questioned whether it’s “a company that’s great at innovation.”

He emphasized that real progress in AI won’t come from playing catch-up; it will require true innovation.

Meta’s AI Ambitions and Setbacks

Despite the setbacks in talent acquisition, Meta continues investing heavily in AI. It has recently brought on researchers like Jack Rae from Google DeepMind and Johan Schalkwyk from Sesame AI. The company also announced an investment in Scale AI, Wang’s former startup.

Still, with OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic rapidly advancing their projects, Meta faces an uphill climb in the race toward AI dominance.

Altman Teases an AI-Powered Social App

In a subtle pivot that could directly challenge Meta’s social media empire, Altman hinted at OpenAI’s work on a new social networking app. Unlike conventional algorithmic feeds, this app would be powered by AI to deliver a highly personalized user experience.

Meanwhile, Meta has been testing its own version through the Meta AI app, though user confusion and unintended public sharing of personal chats have raised eyebrows.

Clash of Titans: Altman vs. Zuckerberg

With both companies exploring AI-driven social platforms and battling for elite researchers, the rivalry between Sam Altman and Mark Zuckerberg is intensifying. While Meta continues its high-stakes hiring spree, Altman appears confident that OpenAI’s purpose-driven culture will win out.

As both tech giants chart their path toward AI superintelligence, one thing is clear: the fight for the future of AI is no longer just about technology; it’s also about people, purpose, and vision.