Mark Zuckerberg is on a hiring spree, pulling top talent from the AI world to build Meta’s Superintelligence Labs and challenge rivals like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The Facebook and Instagram parent’s aggressive push to unify its AI efforts has escalated the talent war in Silicon Valley.
Among the high-profile hires, Meta has reportedly lured Apple’s Ruoming Pang with a staggering $200 million offer, and OpenAI’s Trapit Bansal with a $100 million package. In Indian currency, Pang’s deal translates to over Rs 1,600 crore, while Bansal’s offer is worth around Rs 800 crore.
From a pure numbers standpoint, the superintelligence group has some of the highest compensation of any corporate job, including CEO roles at the world’s major banks. Much of the massive compensation being offered by Meta is tied to performance targets and long-term loyalty, meaning employees may not receive the full amount if they leave early or if the company’s stock underperforms, said the Bloomberg report.
Meta’s compensation packages for its Superintelligence Lab (MSL) hires include a base salary, a signing bonus, and a substantial portion in Meta stock, with equity forming the bulk of the deal, according to the Bloomberg report. The initial salary and bonus are often significant cash payouts. In cases where a recruit is forfeiting large equity stakes in a startup to join Meta, the signing bonus is adjusted upwards to offset the loss.
The stock component typically comes with strings attached — Meta includes clauses that tie payouts to specific metrics, such as its stock price increasing by a certain percentage annually. Many new hires are also signing contracts with vesting periods longer than the standard four-year schedule, the sources told Bloomberg.
