In a striking twist in the escalating battle for artificial intelligence dominance, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has revealed that Meta tried to tempt his top engineers with extraordinary signing bonuses of up to $100 million each — but not a single one accepted the offer.
Speaking candidly on a podcast conversation, Altman described this as part of Meta’s larger strategy to gain ground in the AI arms race. He reflected on why the tactic failed, saying, “People compare the two paths and say, ‘OpenAI has a much better shot at delivering superintelligence.’”
These remarks bring fresh clarity to the fierce competition unfolding among global tech giants. Altman emphasized that while Meta’s financial strength is impressive, its overdependence on money as a motivator might be hollowing out deeper team values. “If a company relies only on money, it risks missing the soul of its mission,” he suggested.
Despite his respect for Meta’s accomplishments, Altman questioned its creative integrity and ability to nurture breakthrough innovations. The backdrop to this revelation includes Meta’s recent $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI and its recruitment of Alexandr Wang to spearhead its superintelligence initiative. Still, delays in Meta’s open-source model rollouts have reportedly slowed progress.
As tech titans like Google, DeepSeek in China, and OpenAI itself push the boundaries of artificial intelligence, a silent war for elite AI talent is being waged behind the scenes — where engineers are being offered deals as extravagant as those in professional sports.
But Altman’s account offers a reminder: in the race to build artificial general intelligence, money alone may not be the magnet. Loyalty, belief in purpose, and trust in vision are proving to be stronger forces.
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