Why Sam Altman is calling Meta’s AI hiring a “war cry”

Altman vs Zukerberg

The escalating AI talent war between Meta and OpenAI just turned personal. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has broken his silence on Meta’s continued poaching of top researchers, including key contributors to OpenAI’s AI model development. In a recent podcast appearance, Altman framed the rivalry in sharp terms, calling it a “war cry” and saying, “Winning is fun. And I expect to win.”

His comments came after Meta’s recent hiring spree, which has reportedly pulled at least seven researchers from OpenAI into its new AI division, Meta Superintelligence Labs. Former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang heads the unit.

“So, bring it”: Altman hits back

Altman described Meta’s hiring strategy as resembling “mafioso poaching style,” though he stopped short of naming Zuckerberg directly. “They want to get into the AI game. I understand it. If he’s going to do this, he needs to hire some people. So, bring it,” he said. Despite the apparent friction, Altman also acknowledged the industry’s competitive nature and the inevitability of movement across companies. “Some people will go to different places… We feel fine,” he told reporters earlier at the Sun Valley conference.

Altman also confirmed he hasn’t spoken to Mark Zuckerberg since the talent shifts began.

Reports suggest that Meta is offering up to $20 million annually to top AI researchers from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and Apple. One high-profile hire includes Ruoming Pang, formerly the head of Apple’s Foundation Models team.

Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth recently acknowledged the brewing rivalry. In a statement to CNBC, he said, “Sam neglected to mention that he’s countering those offers,” referencing rumors of OpenAI offering $100 million signing bonuses to retain its top talent.

With only around 2,000 researchers globally qualified to build foundational AI systems, the competition is both intense and public. As Big Tech companies invest heavily in next-gen AI, the race for talent is now as critical as the technology itself.