Meta poaches OpenAI’s brightest with $100 mn signing bonuses

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Meta has reportedly hired at least four more researchers from OpenAI. The new hires are Shengjia Zhao, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren. 

This follows news that Meta had already recruited OpenAI researcher Trapit Bansal and three others earlier this week. 

These moves suggest Meta is aggressively trying to strengthen its AI team by bringing in top talent from one of its biggest competitors.

Meta’s hiring spree comes not long after it released its latest AI model, called Llama 4, in April. 

Reports suggest Mark Zuckerberg was disappointed with Llama 4’s performance, especially since some benchmarks showed it wasn’t as good as competing models. 

That may have pushed Meta to look for more experienced AI researchers to improve its future AI systems.

This rivalry has sparked tensions between the two companies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claimed Meta was offering huge incentives, like $100 million signing bonuses, to lure his top people away. 

Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, responded, saying the offers were more complicated than just massive cash payments.

The situation has caused concern inside OpenAI. In a message to staff shared by Wired, OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer Mark Chen said the recent departures felt like “someone has broken into our home and stolen something.” 

He reassured employees that OpenAI leadership, including himself and Sam Altman, are actively talking to employees with offers from Meta. 

He added that OpenAI is working hard to improve pay packages and find new ways to reward and recognize valuable team members.

This hiring battle shows how fierce competition has become in the AI world, where skilled researchers are in high demand. 

Companies like Meta and OpenAI know that breakthroughs in AI depend on having the best minds, and they’re willing to fight for talent, even if it means offering eye-popping compensation or rethinking how they keep employees happy and motivated.

What do you think about Meta hiring OpenAI talent? Which company do you think has a better shot at cracking AGI? Tell us below in the comments, or reach us via our Twitter or Facebook.