Meta has onboarded three former OpenAI researchers to join its ambitious “superintelligence” initiative, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. This move comes shortly after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly accused Meta of aggressively attempting to lure its talent away.
A spokesperson for OpenAI acknowledged the exit of the three researchers but declined to provide additional information.
Meta, on the other hand, has not issued any comment regarding the hires. The individuals joining Meta are Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai—all previously stationed at OpenAI’s Zurich office, the Journal noted.
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Shifting Alliances and Intensifying AI Arms Race
This hiring spree underscores the intensifying competition among tech giants to dominate the artificial intelligence frontier. Altman recently claimed that Meta had been offering massive compensation packages—reportedly up to $100 million—to entice OpenAI employees to defect.
“I’ve heard that Meta thinks of us as their biggest competitor,” Altman remarked, hinting at growing friction between the two companies.
While Meta once led in the development of open-source AI systems, it has recently faced setbacks, including delays in launching new models that could have matched or surpassed offerings from rivals such as Google, OpenAI, and Chinese firm DeepSeek.
The loss of talent has also raised questions about Meta’s ability to stay ahead in the innovation curve.
In a bold move to reassert its influence in the AI landscape, Meta has also brought in Alexandr Wang, the 28-year-old CEO of Scale AI, to contribute to its superintelligence goals.
In addition to hiring Wang, Meta made a substantial investment by acquiring a 49% stake in Scale AI for $14.3 billion.
These developments reflect a larger strategy by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to pursue “artificial general intelligence” (AGI)—a vision that entails creating AI systems with human-level cognitive abilities.
With a growing team of elite researchers and strategic investments, Meta appears to be making a determined push to reclaim its position in the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.
As the AI race continues to heat up, the battle for top talent and technological dominance is becoming increasingly fierce.
Meta’s recent recruitment efforts and bold acquisitions suggest that Zuckerberg is betting big on superintelligence—and isn’t afraid to go head-to-head with OpenAI to get there.
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