Overview

• Meta’s Superintelligence Labs has hired more than a dozen elite AI researchers with compensation packages spanning $100 million to $300 million.
• Star recruits include Apple’s former AI models lead Ruoming Pang on a reported $200 million-plus deal and veteran researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed Meta offered signing bonuses of up to $100 million to poach his staff, marking a new peak in Silicon Valley’s talent war.
• Competitors are responding with retention measures and pay reviews as Meta’s nine-figure hiring spree reshapes AI recruitment norms.
• Industry figures such as Michael Dell warn that such sharp pay disparities could fuel internal discontent and strain Meta’s corporate culture.