Meta, the newly rebranded parent company of Facebook, is in the news again. They’ve poached four other researchers from OpenAI, according to reports, to strengthen their artificial intelligence (AI) prowess. Read about our latest hires, Shengjia Zhao, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren, who all join in this excitement. This development comes amid an intensifying race to catch up with OpenAI. It is in reaction to criticism from months prior over the performance of its Llama AI models.
Just last month, in April, Meta released its much-anticipated Llama 4 AI models. These models did not live up to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision. Critics retorted that the version which made it onto one widely used benchmark failed to provide First Byte with a best-in-class result. It’s clear that in many ways, Meta is taking the technological underpinnings very seriously. It’s evident that the firm is trying to poach elite talent from industry powerhouses such as OpenAI.
The recruitment of Trapit Bansal, an influential researcher from OpenAI, alongside the three other researchers highlights Meta’s aggressive strategy in the AI domain. According to recent exclusive reporting from The Wall Street Journal, Meta has wooed researchers with multimillion-dollar payoffs. These offers are loaded with convoluted conditions rather than an old-fashioned upfront signing bonus.
Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, acknowledged the potential for large financial offers extended to senior talent in his communication with employees. He noted that “the actual wording of the solicitation/offer” can make a difference when competing to attract top talent.
Here’s what OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, had to say about the whole affair. He noted that Meta dangled “$100 million signing bonuses” to lure talent away from his agency. He added, “up until now, none of our top talent” have departed OpenAI for Meta.
