You’ve probably heard rumours that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been trying to steal the top minds from other AI labs with eye‑watering offers. According to OpenAI’s Sam Altman, these efforts—some allegedly worth US$100 million—haven’t paid off. You’re going to find out what went on, why it didn’t work, and how both companies are racing to be the leaders of AI.
Meta makes massive offers but faces resistance
You’ll want to know what’s happening behind the scenes. Sam Altman confirmed on a podcast with his brother Jack Altman, released on Tuesday, that Meta had been aggressively wooing AI researchers from rivals like OpenAI and Google DeepMind. These offers reportedly include US$100 million signing bonuses and comparable annual compensation.
New episode of Uncapped with @sama. Enjoy 🤗 pic.twitter.com/2IxYt3B4Gm
— Jack Altman (@jaltma) June 17, 2025
He said his staff believed in OpenAI’s mission to reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) and thought it might overtake Meta in value. Altman also criticised Meta’s strategy, claiming that handing out huge pay packets without a strong mission might not lead to a healthy company culture.
Poaching attempts hit obstacles
It wasn’t just hearsay. Meta is believed to have targeted Noam Brown, a lead OpenAI researcher, and Koray Kavukcuoglu, once an AI architect at Google. Altman confirmed that both efforts failed and used the moment to praise OpenAI’s “culture of innovation”. He added that Meta’s current AI work “hasn’t worked as well as they hoped” and that although he respects Meta, he doesn’t see it as “a company that’s great at innovation.”
He made a key point: matching today’s AI is not enough—companies must innovate to stay ahead.
Growth in the AI superintelligence race
You’re probably wondering what’s next. Meta has launched a superintelligence team under former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and invested in Wang’s old company. The firm has also hired AI stars like Jack Rae from Google DeepMind and Johan Schalkwyk from Sesame AI.
But there’s more to do. OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepMind are at full speed. OpenAI plans to launch a new open AI model soon—a move Altman believes could set Meta even further behind.
In addition, Altman revealed that OpenAI is exploring a social media app powered by AI. It would serve users content based on explicit preferences instead of algorithmic feeds. Meta is also experimenting via its Meta AI app—though some users have found it confusing and publicly shared overly personal chats.
It’s still early days for AI‑driven social platforms. But as you’ve seen, the competition between Zuckerberg and Altman is shaping up for a big talent battle.
