Sam Altman Claims Meta Tried to Poach OpenAI Staff with $100M Bonuses!

The AI talent war just escalated. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that Meta allegedly offered $100 million bonuses to poach key OpenAI employees. The revelation highlights the cutthroat competition among tech giants to secure the best minds in artificial intelligence.

Altman’s comments, shared during a recent tech forum, suggest a fierce recruitment strategy at play, as Meta ramps up its own AI initiatives. With LLaMA models, generative tools, and infrastructure in development, Meta is clearly aiming to outpace OpenAI in AI capability and leadership.

Offering such massive bonuses reflects the extreme value companies now place on AI research talent, model training experience, and infrastructure know-how. The industry isn’t just racing to build smarter AI—it’s competing to hire those who can build it first.

This also raises concerns about long-term loyalty, intellectual property risks, and what aggressive hiring tactics mean for innovation ethics. As engineers switch sides, questions emerge about data security, project leaks, and proprietary algorithms.

For OpenAI, this signals a critical moment to strengthen internal culture, retain its top minds, and maintain strategic focus. For Meta, the pressure to scale AI quickly—and show results—may justify such unprecedented compensation.

Ultimately, this headline isn’t just about bonuses—it’s a sign of the multi-billion-dollar AI arms race playing out in real-time.