Meta offers $100M bonuses to poach OpenAI talent but Altman defends mission-driven culture
Despite Meta’s generous offers, OpenAI staff remain loyal. Sam Altman argues that high pay alone doesn’t build lasting innovation or a strong team.
Meta has reportedly attempted to lure top talent from OpenAI with signing bonuses exceeding $100 million, according to OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman.
Speaking on a podcast hosted by his brother, Jack Altman, he revealed that Meta has offered extremely high compensation to key OpenAI staff, yet none have accepted the offers.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is said to be directly involved in recruiting for a new ‘superintelligence’ team as part of the latest AI push.
The tech giant recently announced a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI and brought Scale’s CEO, Alexandr Wang, on board. Altman believes Meta sees ChatGPT not only as competition for Google but as a potential rival to Facebook regarding user attention.
Altman questioned whether such high-compensation strategies foster the right environment, suggesting that culture cannot be built on upfront financial incentives alone.
He stressed that OpenAI prefers aligning rewards with its mission instead of offering massive pay packets. In his view, sustainable innovation stems from purpose, not payouts.
While recognising Meta’s persistence in the AI race, Altman suggested that the company will likely try again if the current effort fails. He highlighted a cultural difference, saying OpenAI has built a team focused on consistent innovation — something he believes Meta still struggles to understand.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!