Meta Platforms has recently intensified its AI talent acquisition by hiring seven top researchers from OpenAI. This includes four researchers—Shengjia Zhao, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren—who have joined Meta’s AI division, adding to three earlier hires: Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai, all experts in computer vision and deep learning.
These researchers were involved in key projects at OpenAI, such as the development of GPT-4 and multimodal AI models. For example, Shengjia Zhao contributed to GPT-4, Hongyu Ren led training efforts for some OpenAI models, Jiahui Yu led the Perception team, and Shuchao Bi managed multimodal models.
Meta’s aggressive recruitment is part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s broader strategy to advance Meta’s AI capabilities and compete in the race toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). Unlike OpenAI’s more closed partnership model with Microsoft, Meta emphasizes open-source AI research, which appeals to some researchers seeking transparency and scientific freedom.
This talent influx aims to bolster Meta’s next-generation AI models, including the Llama series and its superintelligence team. The move follows criticism of Llama 4’s underperformance and reflects Meta’s urgency to close the gap with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
The departures have been described internally at OpenAI as a significant loss, with some engineers publicly expressing disappointment over the leadership’s inability to retain these key talents.
Meta has not publicly detailed the specific roles or compensation packages for these hires, though reports mention complex offers beyond simple signing bonuses. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged Meta’s significant offers but stated that none of OpenAI’s top talents have left so far.
Meta’s transfer of seven top researchers from OpenAI marks a major escalation in the AI talent war, reflecting both companies’ high stakes in advancing AI technology and leadership.