Meta is investing heavily to secure top talent for its new AI superintelligence lab — but is pushing back against claims of indiscriminate $100 million signing bonuses. In a leaked company-wide meeting, CTO Andrew Bosworth addressed OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s suggestion that Meta was offering such sums to every recruit, stating that while some senior roles may command total compensation near that level, these are structured as long-term packages with stock grants tied to tenure and performance — not lump-sum payments.
Recent high-profile hires include OpenAI researcher Lucas Beyer and his Zurich-based team, though Beyer dismissed reports of $100M bonuses as “fake news.” Beyer specializes in computer vision, aligning with Meta’s focus on entertainment-oriented AI.
Separately, Meta acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI, with co-founder Alexandr Wang expected to benefit substantially via dividends from the $14 billion deal. Meanwhile, another AI researcher reportedly turned down Meta’s $18 million offer to join Thinking Machines Lab, founded by Mira Murati.
Meta continues to compete aggressively for AI talent — just not at the scale some have claimed.
