Sam Altman Criticizes Meta’s Hiring Tactics: Says $100 Million Offers Can't Buy AI Talent

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has taken a dig at Meta’s aggressive talent acquisition strategy, revealing that the social media giant is offering salaries as high as $100 million to lure top AI researchers. However, Altman emphasized that money alone isn’t enough to attract or retain top-tier talent in the artificial intelligence space.

Speaking during a recent event, Altman didn’t mince words as he criticized Meta’s poaching tactics. While he acknowledged the sheer volume of cash offers being thrown around in Silicon Valley, Altman remained confident in OpenAI’s ability to retain talent.

“They’ve tried to offer $100 million compensation packages. It hasn’t worked. People really believe in what we’re doing,” Altman said.

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The remarks come at a time when competition among AI companies is intensifying, especially between OpenAI, Meta, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. With the rapid progress in generative AI, skilled researchers have become a highly sought-after commodity.

Meta has been reportedly recruiting from rival AI firms to bolster its own capabilities in large language models (LLMs) and AI infrastructure. Despite this, Altman believes that OpenAI’s mission-driven culture and ambitious vision continue to inspire loyalty among its team members.

Beyond Big Paychecks: Vision Matters

Altman suggested that purpose and innovation are stronger incentives than money. “People stay because they care about the mission. We’ve created an environment where the work is meaningful, not just lucrative,” he added.

His comments underscore a growing belief that company values and long-term impact play a pivotal role in the AI talent race—something that even nine-figure offers can’t easily replace.