Meta’s $100M AI Hiring War Sparks Backlash and Confusion

Meta vs OpenAI: The $100M AI Talent War Begins

Meta is reportedly offering AI experts compensation packages as high as $100 million, according to multiple credible reports and direct statements by industry leaders. At Squaredtech, we’ve followed the escalating AI hiring war closely—and the story behind these jaw-dropping numbers reveals more than just big paychecks.

The drama began when Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, stated that Meta had approached several OpenAI employees with “$100M signing bonuses.” He made the claim in a podcast conversation with his brother Jack Altman. Altman said Meta had made “giant offers” to lure away talent for its new Superintelligence division, led by Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang.

While Altman’s phrasing was debated—especially his use of the word “like”—his overall message was clear: Meta was aggressively trying to poach OpenAI staff. Soon after, Meta’s CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth pushed back. In a leaked internal meeting, Boz said Altman was “being dishonest” and clarified that the compensation offers were not all signing bonuses, but included long-term packages.

Despite the denial, Meta didn’t dispute that nine-figure offers had been made to elite candidates. Squaredtech’s analysis of multiple media reports from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Information confirms that such deals—while rare—are real.

Read More About Our Article of Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s $30 Billion Standoff: Why Meta’s Antitrust Gamble Failed Published on April 16, 2025 SquaredTech

Breaking Down the Meta AI Pay Package

At Squaredtech, we believe context matters. So let’s be clear—no, not every Meta AI hire is getting $100 million. But some specific individuals, including OpenAI researchers and top names from rival labs, are being offered packages that hit or exceed $100M in total value.

These packages typically include:

• Eight-figure signing bonuses
• Massive restricted stock units (RSUs) over a four-year vesting period
• Annual salaries in the high six or low seven figures

For example, Meta’s new AI hire Alexandr Wang (Scale AI founder) reportedly secured billions in investment, giving him one of the highest-value tech deals of the year. According to WSJ and NYT, Meta has extended more than 45 offers to OpenAI staff alone.

Squaredtech sources say these offers are designed to:

• Break long-term stock lockups at rival firms
• Incentivize loyalty during Meta’s AI lab rebuild
• Pull key talent into its new Superintelligence research lab

It’s also a defensive move. If Meta falls behind in the AI race, it risks losing dominance in search, advertising, and virtual assistants. So, it’s spending whatever it takes to recruit from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic.

Altman vs Boz: Who’s Telling the Truth?

At the heart of this $100M debate is a semantic war between OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Meta’s Boz.

• Altman’s Claim: Meta is offering $100M “signing bonuses” to his team.
• Boz’s Response: That’s “dishonest”—the real number may be true, but it’s part of a total comp package, not just an upfront bonus.

Squaredtech reviewed the actual quotes. Altman said:

“They started making these like giant offers to a lot of people on our team. You know, like $100M signing bonuses, more than that comp per year.”

Boz said:

“Sam is just being dishonest… The market’s hot. It’s not that hot.”

However, by calling it dishonest instead of false, Boz hinted that some parts are true. He admitted that Meta’s offers include “all these different things,” which could include bonuses, stock, and guaranteed equity grants.

So while the term “signing bonus” may have been exaggerated, the total value is not. And that’s what has Silicon Valley stunned.

Why This Matters: The AI Talent Gap is Exploding

At Squaredtech, we view this not just as a pay war, but as a warning sign for what’s coming next in AI.

These nine-figure offers could:

• Create rifts inside Big Tech: Other engineers making far less may start leaving.
• Raise hiring costs across the industry.
• Shift innovation hubs to firms with deep pockets like Meta, Apple, and Microsoft.

The compensation battle is also making transparency harder. Most tech companies avoid discussing pay openly, especially at this scale. But thanks to SEC filings and leaks, we now know that even Meta execs like Boz himself earn close to $100M in RSUs over four years.

This makes it easier for Meta to justify similar offers to AI researchers.

Squaredtech Take: $100M Is Real, But Rare

Here’s what Squaredtech believes after reviewing all the data:

• Yes, Meta has made $100M total compensation offers to select AI talent.
• No, they are not standard signing bonuses across the board.
• The real number includes equity, salary, and milestone-based incentives.
• Meta’s strategy is aggressive—but likely necessary to win the AI race.

This isn’t just a one-time spike—it signals a new salary ceiling for machine learning researchers and AI system architects. The ripple effects will soon hit startups, VCs, and every AI-powered product in development.

Meta may be betting billions, but if these hires bring success, the $100M cost could look cheap in hindsight.

For ongoing updates on the AI talent war and more insights from inside Silicon Valley, keep reading Squaredtech.co.

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