OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has disclosed that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, attempted to lure top talent from the ChatGPT maker with massive offers, including bonuses and salaries exceeding $100 million, but has so far failed to sway any of OpenAI’s key employees.
Speaking on the “Uncapped with Jack Altman” podcast released Tuesday, Altman described the recruitment attempts as “crazy,” noting that Meta made the lucrative offers to “a lot of people on our team.”
“I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them up on that,” he said.
Altman criticized Meta’s compensation strategy, suggesting that huge guaranteed paychecks aren’t the foundation for building a healthy company culture. “I think the strategy of a ton of upfront guaranteed comp and that being the reason you tell someone to join… I don’t think that’s going to set up a great culture,” he said.
Meta has yet to respond publicly to the claims. However, the tech giant has made no secret of its aggressive push into generative AI, pledging to invest at least $60 billion in AI development this year alone. In January, CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared the company’s ambition to lead the industry, competing head-on with OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.
Part of that effort includes a new multi-billion-dollar partnership with Scale AI, a company specializing in data labeling for AI model training. The deal, reportedly worth more than $10 billion, also brings Scale AI’s CEO, Alexandr Wang, into Meta’s fold to help guide its superintelligence initiatives.
Despite acknowledging Meta’s strength as a tech player, Altman questioned its reputation for original thinking. “There’s many things I respect about Meta as a company,” he said. “But I don’t think they’re a company that’s great at innovation.”
Altman reaffirmed his belief that OpenAI has a stronger chance of delivering on the promise of superintelligence, suggesting that purpose and mission—not just money—remain key motivators for retaining top talent.
What You Should Know
Meta reportedly tried to poach OpenAI staff with $100 million+ offers, but none of OpenAI’s top talent accepted. CEO Sam Altman criticized Meta’s approach as potentially harmful to culture and claimed OpenAI is better positioned to achieve superintelligence.
