OpenAI is already facing a huge talent drain as Meta keeps luring its researchers away with massive compensation packages. Just last week, another four prominent AI researchers moved from OpenAI to Meta. This comes on the heels of eight other researchers leaving in just the last week. This dramatic shift by Meta has sent shockwaves through OpenAI, where fears have accelerated about the company’s overall workforce stability and retention plans.
Mark Chen, the Chief Research Officer of OpenAI, addressed the situation in a Slack memo that was obtained by Wired. In that… In his memo, Chen described the emotional cost of these departures. He equated it to an affront to their institutional character.
“I feel a visceral feeling right now, as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something.” – Mark Chen
The recent departure wave is now the biggest-ever headline in a growing war for AI talent. Omnipresent AI Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, expressed his exasperations this past week on a popular podcast. And he accused Meta of poaching the best talent from his department. They are paying upfront signing bonuses, sometimes up to $100 million to lure these individuals.
Company sources say Meta’s executives have vigorously disputed this portrayal internally. They complain that, even though AI companies are eating each other’s lunch with multimillion-dollar AI-researcher salaries, $100 million doesn’t really get into the weeds of what they’re bringing to the table. Whatever one thinks of these financial incentives, their effect on OpenAI’s ability to keep its talent is clear.
This battle between the two tech titans underscores just how highly researchers with AI skills are being valued in this new age. Ubiquity. Meta isn’t being shy about how quickly it’s growing its team. In turn, OpenAI has to rapidly recalibrate its compensation offers to retain elite talent already in-house and pull new hires on board.
