The generative AI race is growing fierce by the day, and since it's a relatively new space that major tech firms are trying to hop onto, there isn't much talent going around to support these efforts.
AGI (artificial general intelligence) seems like the end goal most of these companies are after, but at this point, it's increasingly becoming a buzzword with a different meaning each time.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently claimed that Meta is trying to poach the AI firm's staffers with $100 million bonuses (via Bloomberg). This news comes after Meta began doubling down on its efforts on the AI front.
The Facebook maker recently invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI to bolster its AI advances, and even hired the AI startup's founder and CEO Alexandr Wang to lead its new superintelligence division.
While speaking to his brother, Jack Altman, on the Uncapped podcast, Sam Altman indicated:
"They (Meta) started making giant offers to a lot of people on our team. You know, like $100 million signing bonuses, more than that (in) compensation per year. At least, so far, none of our best people have decided to take them up on that."
The executive also claimed that he'd heard that Meta thinks of OpenAI as its biggest competitor. Meta hasn't responded to the claims, but we're keeping a close eye on the situation as it unfolds.
This isn't the first time we've heard about AI powerhouses trying to poach talent from their rivals.
In April, a separate report revealed that Google's DeepMind was using aggressive noncompete clauses to prevent its staffers from joining rival AI labs like Microsoft and OpenAI. DeepMind's commitment to retaining its AI talent includes subjecting them to excruciatingly long paid time off (PTO) that could last up to a year.
We also know that Microsoft is paying its AI staffers top dollar compared to the rest of its employees working in other divisions. For context, an average AI software engineer makes up to $377,611, which is $120,000 more than the average salary of an employee in the Azure division.
