AI Researcher Reportedly Turns Down $1bn Offer from Zuckerberg

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Baku: A leading AI researcher has reportedly rejected a staggering $1 billion pay offer from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to join its artificial intelligence (AI) division, underscoring the intensifying talent war in Silicon Valley, according to The Telegraph.

The offer was made to a staff member at Thinking Machines, a San Francisco-based AI start-up founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati. The company recently raised $2 billion at a $12 billion valuation—despite not yet launching a product.

According to a Wired report, Meta offered several Thinking Machines researchers packages ranging from $200 million to $500 million over four years, with some including a first-year award of $50 million to $100 million. One offer was reportedly worth as much as $1 billion over several years.

So far, none of the start-up’s staff have accepted Meta’s offers.

A Meta spokesperson disputed the figures but confirmed that a “handful” of offers had been made. “While there was one sizeable offer, the details are off,” the spokesperson said.

AI Talent Arms Race

The unprecedented offers reflect the ongoing AI arms race, with tech giants aggressively recruiting top scientists and developers to dominate next-generation AI.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previously said Meta had offered his employees up to $100 million to switch companies.

Zuckerberg himself is reportedly leading Meta’s talent drive, personally contacting AI experts via WhatsApp and offering lucrative deals. He has already brought in about 50 researchers to join Meta’s new “superintelligence” lab after growing dissatisfied with internal progress.

The company is investing tens of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure, including data centers to build more powerful machine-learning systems. Earlier this year, Meta delayed the launch of its upgraded AI model, Behemoth.

Zuckerberg recently warned that AI superintelligence could potentially “replace large swaths of society,” but emphasized Meta’s intention to develop AI that “empowers everyone,” including through consumer tools like smart glasses.

In a bold move, Zuckerberg also orchestrated a $14.3 billion deal to bring in Alexandr Wang, founder of Scale AI, acquiring a 49 percent stake in the company to lead Meta’s new AI team.