OpenAI Will ‘Fight’ Meta for AI Talent, Says Top Exec

The escalating war for AI talent has spilled into public view, as OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer Mark Chen sent a fiery internal memo over the weekend addressing Meta’s aggressive push to recruit its top researchers — reports WIRED.

Chen’s memo came days after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg successfully lured four senior OpenAI researchers to his new “superintelligence” team. “I feel a visceral feeling right now, as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something,” Chen wrote to employees Saturday on Slack, acknowledging the sting of the recent departures. “Please trust that we haven’t been sitting idly by.”

OpenAI appears to be scrambling behind the scenes to stem the brain drain. Chen revealed he’s working closely with CEO Sam Altman “around the clock to talk to those with offers.” He added that the company is “recalibrating comp” and looking for “creative ways to recognize and reward top talent” while ensuring “fairness to others.”

Meta has reportedly offered massive compensation packages — up to $100 million in signing bonuses and year-one pay — to attract researchers from OpenAI and Google as the company overhauls its AI division. While Meta insiders have disputed the figure, multiple OpenAI sources, including Atlman himself, confirmed it.

OpenAI leadership framed Meta’s actions as opportunistic, noting the timing aligns with OpenAI’s company-wide recharge week. “Meta knows we’re taking this week to recharge and will take advantage of it to try and pressure you to make decisions fast and in isolation,” another senior official at the company warned staff, encouraging them to contact Chen and other leaders for support.

While emphasizing the need to retain talent, Chen also stressed long-term vision. “We need to remain focused on the real prize… skirmishes with Meta are the side quest.”

CEO Sam Altman responded in support: “It’s been really amazing to watch Mark’s leadership and integrity through this process… Very grateful we have him as our leader.”

With the AI arms race heating up, the pursuit of artificial general intelligence is rapidly evolving into a competition to recruit the minds best equipped to build it.