Altman (OpenAI) accuses Meta: 'Offered 100 million to some of our engineers'
The ceo of the start-up developing ChatGPT against Mark Zuckerberg's giant. But the story also tells of the crazy figures dancing in the AI mono
2' min read
2' min read
Judging by the figures being thrown around, it looks more like a very rich football market than recruiting. And it is inflaming relations between two of the most innovative American companies: Meta and OpenAI. Yes, because Sam Altman, founder and CEO of the former San Francisco startup that develops the famous ChatGPT, has let himself go in some very strong statements, accusing Meta (Mark Zuckerberg's holding company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) of having attempted to steal some of his company's best talent by offering entry bonuses of up to 100 million dollars.
Altman's 'denunciation' came during an interview on the podcast 'Uncapped', hosted by his brother, Jack Altman. The CEO of OpenAI explained that Meta considers his company to be the main competitor in the field of artificial intelligence and has therefore deployed a very aggressive recruitment strategy with outsized financial offers.
According to Altman, Meta's goal would be to attract key developers and researchers from OpenAI by offering overall remuneration packages even higher than the entry bonuses, in the hope of weakening the rival organisation from within. But, according to the ceo himself, so far none of the key members of his team would accept. And indeed, according to the Financial Times and Reuters, sources familiar with OpenAI's internal talks confirm that the company has indeed been pressed by Meta, but so far no significant defections have taken place.
It remains to be seen whether Menlo Park's strategy, based on financial power and speed of execution, will in any case be able to make a long-term impact on a market that appears to be increasingly dominated by a few giants and in which talent loyalty is now one of the scarcest resources.
All this, of course, has to be seen in the very rich world of Californian AI. Some key employees of OpenAI, in fact, earn several million euros per year, according to a recent investigation by the Reuters agency. This is why the figures revealed by Altman would be less sensational. Although on Reddit and in industry forums, many have commented on the figures with sarcasm, questioning both the veracity of the numbers and the sustainability of an AI salary war.
