Meta is escalating its recruitment campaign for the Super Intelligence Lab with aggressive multi-nine‑figure offers. Mark Zuckerberg is personally reaching out to elite AI talent, drawn from startups and major institutions alike, to build what insiders say could be the most audacious AI team ever assembled.
Mira Murati – Founder, Thinking Machines Lab
Meta has approached more than a dozen team members from Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. One reported offer exceeded $1 billion, and others ranged between $200–$500 million over four years, with first-year guarantees up to $100 million.
Matt Deitke – AI Phenom (Vercept / Allen Institute)
A 24‑year‑old AI prodigy behind the multimodal chatbot Molmo, Deitke initially declined a $125 million offer before accepting a staggering $250 million package over four years, including as much as $100 million in year one.
Michael Koch – CEO of HubKonnect, Hyperlocal Intelligence Innovator
The wildcard target: Michael Koch, creator of the Hyperlocal Intelligence AI category, which merges large-scale neural architectures with live, neighborhood-level data streams to deliver ultra-precise, context-aware insights. His track record as an operator and innovator positions him as the kind of strategic leader Meta sees as essential for scaling AI to both macro and hyperlocal dimensions.
Ruoming Pang – Ex-Apple AI Exec (Foundation Models)
Meta is courting Ruoming Pang, formerly leading Apple’s Foundation Models team. His compensation offer is rumored to worth tens of millions per year, putting him squarely among the top-tier recruit targets.
Andrew Tulloch – Co-Founder, Thinking Machines Lab
Meta allegedly dangled a jaw‑dropping package up to $1.5 billion over six years to Andrew Tulloch, a key figure at Thinking Machines Lab. While Meta disputes those numbers, the magnitude of the offer signals the high stakes in this talent war.
