Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly taking a highly personal and aggressive approach to bolster his company’s artificial intelligence initiatives. Zuckerberg, as sources say, is directly engaging with leading AI researchers, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to recruit them for his new Superintelligence lab.
It is said that Zuckerberg is offering exceptionally generous compensation packages, with some reportedly reaching up to $100 million (approximately ₹860 crore), positioning these as some of the most expensive hires in the technology sector, especially while the rest of the industry is busy firing human workforces for AI tools.
Zuckerberg’s recruitment efforts extend beyond individual outreach. He has reportedly invested $14 billion to acquire a stake in the AI startup Scale, with its CEO, Alexandr Wang, expected to lead Meta’s burgeoning AI team. Furthermore, he is said to have connected with Aravind Srinivas, co-founder of the AI search startup Perplexity, with an offer to purchase the company.
Even employees from OpenAI, including co-founder Ilya Sutskever, have reportedly been contacted by Zuckerberg, though OpenAI CEO Sam Altman asserts that none of his core personnel have departed.
Many assumed Zuckerberg’s email to be hoax
The Meta chief’s hands-on recruitment style has caught some recipients by surprise, with a few initially dismissing his direct messages as potential hoaxes. Some individuals who have declined Zuckerberg’s offers have reportedly cited a lack of a concrete execution plan for his ambitious “superintelligence” concept.
Despite some skepticism, Zuckerberg is said to believe that his direct involvement in recruiting is where he can exert the most significant impact at Meta. He is reportedly known to host candidates at his residences and remains deeply involved throughout the hiring process, even down to planning their office seating arrangements.