• By Alex David
  • Mon, 30 Jun 2025 05:55 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

OpenAI seems to be taking measures to preserve the trust of its employees after losing several senior researchers due to Meta's effective recruitment strategies. After reports of Meta poaching at least eight OpenAI researchers surfaced, Chen Mark, the Chief Research Officer at OpenAI, addressed concerns in a meeting, stating that leadership is not idle and is recalculating compensation plans to better retain high performers.

In an internal communication document obtained by Wired, Chen conveyed strong resentment, claiming that losing their researchers felt comparable to “someone has broken into our home and stolen something”, describing intense emotions tied with grief.

Meta’s Hiring Spree Targets OpenAI Talent

  • In the last few weeks, it seems like Meta has recruited no less than eight former OpenAI researchers.
  • According to these reports, these hires include some of the most respected names in artificial intelligence.
  • The Information and TechCrunch have tracked these moves, calling it strategic talent acquisition since it coincided with the launch of Meta's Llama 4 model.

OpenAI Responds: Pay Hikes, Retention Pushes, and More

  • Mark Chen said leadership is working around the clock to retain staff.
  • Compensation is being recalibrated, with creative new incentives in the pipeline.
  • CEO Sam Altman and Chen are personally speaking with researchers who’ve received outside offers.

“We’re scoping out creative ways to recognise and reward top talent,” Chen said in the memo.

Altman’s $100M Signing Bonus Claim and Meta’s Pushback

  • Altman’s claim about receiving a $100 million signing bonus from Meta, claiming that the company wanted to lure top talent and pay millions on sign-in bonuses.
  • Meta has since retracted disputes challenging Meta's claims, saying that while the 100 million figure being talked about is now tossed around due to stock options being calculated as total payout after some time.

Why It Matters: The AI Talent War Is Escalating

The tug-of-war between AI giants like OpenAI and Meta highlights the extreme demand for elite AI researchers, especially those working on large language models (LLMs) and frontier AI. With the global race to develop advanced AI intensifying, retaining top minds is now as critical as developing new models.

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