Meta has made a striking move in the battle for AI talent, securing three key researchers from OpenAI. Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai—originally instrumental in setting up OpenAI’s Zurich office—are now part of Meta’s superintelligence division, reinforcing its push to lead in AI.
In a hands-on recruitment approach, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been reaching out personally to AI experts via WhatsApp, even setting up a chat group playfully named “Recruiting Party 🎉” and hosting exclusive dinners at his Palo Alto and Lake Tahoe homes. These efforts come alongside reports that Zuckerberg has floated compensation packages worth over $100 million to attract top-tier talent.
While this aggressive strategy has already seen wins—such as securing Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang with a notable investment—the search for other high-profile names like OpenAI co-founders Ilya Sutskever and John Schulman has taken a different turn, with both opting to pursue new ventures. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, even noted with a touch of relief on a recent podcast that his best team members have yet to accept these tempting offers.
This development highlights the lengths tech companies are going to capture leading AI minds. It’s a reminder that in today’s competitive landscape, winning top talent is as much about personal engagement and irresistible offers as it is about innovative projects.
