Overview

• Meta has recruited at least seven senior researchers for its new superintelligence team, including Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, Xiaohua Zhai, Zhao Shengjia, Ren Hongyu, Yu Jiahui and Bi Shuchao.
• Lucas Beyer publicly denied receiving a $100 million signing bonus, calling CEO Sam Altman’s claim “fake news” in a post on X.
• OpenAI chief research officer Mark Chen likened the talent departures to a break-in and has begun recalibrating salaries and launching creative rewards to retain staff.
• Meta’s Llama model recently trailed competitors in code-writing benchmarks, intensifying the urgency behind its high-cost recruitment drive.
• Institutional investors have warned that unchecked spending on AI talent could strain Meta’s cash flow and oversight structures.