In a sharp rebuke to Meta's recent recruitment efforts, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has taken aim at Mark Zuckerberg’s attempt to lure key researchers to Meta’s new superintelligence team. In an internal message to OpenAI developers, Altman downplayed Meta’s success, stating that the company “didn’t get their top people and had to go pretty far down the list” despite prolonged recruiting attempts.
Altman emphasized OpenAI’s mission-driven culture, declaring that “missionaries will beat mercenaries.” He vowed to review compensation across OpenAI’s research organization, highlighting the greater growth potential of OpenAI’s stock compared to Meta’s. Altman warned that Zuckerberg’s approach would “create some very deep cultural problems” for Meta in the long run.
The OpenAI chief doubled down on his company’s commitment to building artificial general intelligence (AGI). “Long after Meta moves on to its next shiny thing or defends its social moat, we’ll be here, day after day, year after year, figuring out how to do what we do better than anyone else,” Altman said.
Interestingly, former Meta employees now at OpenAI echoed Altman’s sentiments in internal Slack discussions, praising OpenAI’s superior culture and criticizing Meta’s frequent shifts in priorities.
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The clash underscores the intensifying competition for top AI talent as companies race to dominate the next frontier of technology. OpenAI’s focus on AGI and its cohesive culture appear to be key differentiators in this high-stakes battle, with Altman signaling that his team is ready to play the long game.
