OpenAI leadership is responding to a string of high-profile departures following a targeted recruiting effort by Meta. In an internal memo obtained by WIRED, OpenAI Chief Scientist Mark Chen addressed employees directly, expressing frustration over Meta’s attempts to lure away researchers and assuring staff that company leadership is working to retain top talent. The memo follows the recent departure of four senior OpenAI researchers who joined Meta’s new superintelligence lab.
Internal Memo Reveals Leadership Tensions
In the memo, Chen compared Meta’s recruiting effort to a break-in, writing, “I feel a visceral feeling right now, as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something.” He emphasized that OpenAI executives, including CEO Sam Altman, are actively engaged in efforts to respond. Chen stated they are recalibrating compensation, communicating with employees who have received competing offers, and exploring new ways to recognize and retain top performers.
Chen acknowledged the difficulty of balancing fairness and competitiveness, noting that while he is committed to retaining staff, he would not do so at the expense of fairness to others within the organization. “While I’ll fight to keep every one of you, I won’t do so at the price of fairness to others,” he wrote. The memo also included supportive messages from other OpenAI research leaders, encouraging employees to communicate openly if they feel pressured by outside offers.
The memo’s tone reflects growing unease within OpenAI, as the company faces a tightening race for artificial intelligence talent. Sources at the company indicated that employees have been working long hours, in some cases upwards of 80 hours a week. In response, OpenAI planned a company-wide break to help staff recharge, though leadership reportedly intended to continue working during the pause.
Meta’s Compensation Strategy Fuels Competition
Meta, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has adopted an assertive strategy in its pursuit of AI researchers. According to comments made by Sam Altman in a recent podcast, some OpenAI staff have received offers from Meta reportedly worth up to $100 million in first-year compensation. Several OpenAI employees confirmed the figure to WIRED, although some at Meta have disputed the specific numbers.
Sources close to Meta told WIRED that the company has increased its recruiting focus on talent from OpenAI and Google, especially as it builds out its AI division. Anthropic, another AI company considered a rival, has reportedly drawn less attention from Meta due to perceived differences in organizational culture. A source familiar with the recruitment efforts said that for top-tier researchers, compensation limits are flexible, and Meta is willing to offer exceptional terms.
Neither OpenAI nor Meta responded to requests for comment regarding the ongoing recruitment campaign. However, the intensity of the effort is evident in the messaging from OpenAI’s leadership. In one message included in the internal memo, a research leader warned employees about “exploding offers” from Meta and urged them to reach out for guidance before making any decisions.
Focus Shifts to Long-Term Vision as Rivalry Escalates
Despite the current talent war, OpenAI leadership stressed the importance of maintaining focus on long-term goals. In his message, Chen encouraged staff not to lose sight of the broader mission to advance artificial general intelligence (AGI). “We need to remain focused on the real prize of finding ways to compute into intelligence,” he wrote, noting that several new supercomputing resources would be coming online later this year.
Chen characterized the competition with Meta as a distraction from OpenAI’s core objectives. “Skirmishes with Meta are the side quest,” he wrote, in contrast to the primary goal of building transformative AI systems. The statement was meant to reframe internal priorities amid rising external pressures and personnel shifts.
Sam Altman responded to Chen’s memo in Slack, expressing gratitude for his leadership. “It’s been really amazing to watch Mark’s leadership and integrity through this process,” Altman wrote. As OpenAI recalibrates its approach to internal retention, it continues to face increasing scrutiny not only from competitors but also from the broader tech industry, which is closely watching how these companies manage the human capital essential to shaping the future of AI.