Meta AI Bidding is making headlines once again—but this time, it’s not about the metaverse. The tech giant has turned its full focus to artificial intelligence, unveiling some of the most lucrative compensation packages in the industry to lure top AI talent. According to recent U.S. Labor Department filings obtained by Business Insider, software engineers at Meta can now earn up to $480,000 in base salary, while machine-learning and research engineers are commanding figures up to $440,000.
These eye-watering salaries don’t include stock grants, bonuses, or perks, factors that often double or even triple total compensation. The company’s AI-focused “Superintelligence” lab, launched to lead next-gen AI breakthroughs, has become the focal point of this hiring spree. As Meta scales its AI ambitions, it’s aggressively vying for a limited global pool of elite AI researchers, estimated to be just a few thousand worldwide.
Even smaller, lesser-known startups are now echoing this salary arms race. Thinking Machines Lab, for instance, is reportedly offering engineers $500,000 in base pay, despite having no commercial product yet.
Zuckerberg’s $300M Packages Raise Eyebrows.
Behind Meta’s aggressive push is CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself. According to Axios, he is personally involved in offering select AI researchers compensation packages reaching up to $300 million over four years. Some of these offers, rumored to surpass $100 million in their first year, include stock awards and multi-year incentives targeted at top talent from competitors like OpenAI.
Several notable hires have already made the switch, including Scale AI’s former CEO Alexandr Wang and ex-GitHub leader Nat Friedman, who has taken on the newly created role of Chief AI Officer at Meta. More than a dozen OpenAI researchers have reportedly been approached with similarly high-end packages.
However, Meta AI Bidding executives have publicly downplayed the magnitude of these offers. CTO Andrew Bosworth stated that such deals are rare anare d only extended to top leadership. Internally, even senior engineers at the E7 level are reportedly earning closer to $1.5 million annually, far below the rumored $300 million total packages.
The recruitment blitz hasn’t gone unnoticed. OpenAI’s leadership expressed frustration, with Chief Scientist Mark Chen likening Meta’s tactics to a “break-in.” CEO Sam Altman countered with a sharp warning: “Missionaries beat mercenaries,” signaling OpenAI’s intent to retain talent through culture and vision, not just compensation.
A High-Stakes Talent War in the Age of Superintelligence
Meta’s campaign comes at a pivotal moment in the AI industry. With rivals like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic racing toward artificial general intelligence (AGI), the battle is no longer just about building models; it’s about who can attract the minds behind them.
Zuckerberg has reportedly assured recruits that Meta has no hardware limitations, promising unrestricted access to high-performance GPUs and computational infrastructure, a major bottleneck in AI research. The company also recently acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI for $14 billion, solidifying its pipeline for training large models and accelerating product rollout.
Still, critics argue that throwing money at talent won’t solve Meta’s long-standing innovation challenges. Despite heavy investments, its recent AI product releases have faced setbacks, prompting concerns about whether these big paychecks will yield long-term breakthroughs or short-term optics.
Nevertheless, Meta AI Bidding wager underscores a deeper truth in today’s AI race: algorithms and hardware may build the future, but it’s the people behind them who decide who wins.
Sources:
https://www.wired.com/story/mark-zuckerberg-meta-offer-top-ai-talent-300-million
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/03/ai-salaries-meta-openai-zuckerberg-altman
