AI hiring frenzy in the US resembles sports free agency
Top AI researchers in the US are landing pay packages over $250 million—yes, that's on par with pro basketball stars.
Tech giants like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are battling hard for this talent, offering not just huge salaries but also access to advanced computing power.
The whole hiring scene feels a lot like sports free agency, with personal outreach and even group negotiations shaping who goes where.
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg recently increased his offer to Matt Deitke
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg recently increased his offer to young AI whiz Matt Deitke—now totaling about $250 million over four years.
Deitke left his PhD program early, co-founded a startup backed by ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and built an impressive chatbot at the Allen Institute for AI.
Companies are now offering recruits thousands of GPUs
Getting hired as an AI researcher now means more than just a fat paycheck.
Companies promise recruits thousands of GPUs (the hardware needed for cutting-edge AI work) and sometimes even recruit multiple individuals from the same team—all in the race toward "superintelligence."
OpenAI admits it can't match those wild salary offers
OpenAI admits it can't match those wild salary offers but says it's focused on mission-driven hiring—looking for people who care about its core values as much as the money.