OpenAI Modifies Salaries to Compete with Meta’s Hiring Strategies

In the wake of Meta’s successful recruitment of several high-level researchers, an OpenAI executive allegedly assured team members on Saturday that the company’s leadership has not been simply “passively observing.”

“I’m feeling an intense wave of emotion right now, as though our field has been compromised and something precious has been lost,” stated Chief Research Officer Mark Chen in a Slack message obtained by Wired.

Given the apparent hiring surge at Meta, Chen highlighted that he, CEO Sam Altman, and other OpenAI leaders have been working “diligently to connect with those contemplating new offers.” He noted that they have been “more proactive than ever, reevaluating compensation and investigating innovative methods to recognize and reward top talent.”

Over the past week, various news outlets reported that eight researchers have transitioned from OpenAI to Meta. Altman even expressed concerns during a podcast about Meta allegedly offering “$100 million signing bonuses,” a claim that Meta executives have reportedly contested internally.