Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is intensifying efforts to establish a top-tier superintelligence team, seeking AI researchers from rival organizations. Reports indicate that Meta has been extending multi-million dollar compensation packages, exceeding $100 million, to entice employees from OpenAI and Google DeepMind to work alongside former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang.
These reports were confirmed by OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, during a podcast discussion with his brother, Jack Altman, published on Tuesday. However, Sam Altman indicated that Meta’s recruitment attempts have met with little success, and he did not hesitate to critique the tech giant’s strategy.
“[Meta has] started making these, like, giant offers to a lot of people on our team,” Sam Altman stated in the podcast. “You know, like, $100 million signing bonuses, more than that [in] compensation per year […] I’m really happy that, at least so far, none of our best people have decided to take him up on that.”
Altman expressed confidence that his employees believe OpenAI holds a better promise for achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), which he sees as pivotal for future company value. He suggested that Meta’s emphasis on hefty salary packages, rather than a commitment to AGI, might hinder its corporate culture.
Among Meta’s recruitment targets were Noam Brown, a lead researcher at OpenAI, and Koray Kavukcuoglu, an AI architect at Google. Both attempts proved unsuccessful.
The OpenAI CEO attributed his organization’s success to its culture of innovation, contrasting it with what he perceives as Meta’s struggles in AI development. He remarked, “I don’t think they’re a company that’s great at innovation,” while acknowledging respect for various aspects of Meta.
As Meta intends to enhance its AI capabilities under Wang’s guidance, it recently made a significant investment in Scale AI and secured key AI figures, including Jack Rae from Google DeepMind and Johan Schalkwyk from Sesame AI. However, they face an uphill battle.
Looking ahead, Meta must bolster its AI team amidst the rapid advancements being made by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. OpenAI is set to introduce an open AI model that could further distance Meta in the AI competition.
Altman also spoke about developing an AI-driven social media platform that could rival Meta’s offerings. He expressed interest in creating a service that customizes feeds to user preferences, diverging from the traditional algorithm-driven models common in social media.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly crafting a social networking application internally, while Meta explores similar innovations through its Meta AI app, though user feedback has indicated some confusion regarding its functionality.
The future of AI-enhanced social networks remains uncertain, yet both Zuckerberg and Altman appear ready to engage in a competitive battle for AI talent in the tech industry.