A Personal Crusade to Catch Up
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, is not leaving the future of artificial intelligence to chance. After a rough year for Meta’s AI division, Zuckerberg has taken matters into his own hands—literally. He’s been firing off emails, WhatsApp messages, and hosting dinners at his homes in Palo Alto and Lake Tahoe to woo the brightest minds in AI. He’s not relying on recruiters. He’s making first contact himself.
Zuckerberg’s goal is to build a new “Superintelligence” lab under Meta, and he’s willing to pay big. According to people familiar with the effort, he has offered some researchers compensation packages worth up to $100 million. In one case, he offered to buy out an entire startup to acquire the talent.
Some recipients of these offers didn’t believe they were real. One researcher assumed it was a hoax and ignored the message. But they soon discovered it was indeed Zuckerberg, determined to get Meta back in the AI game.
Meta’s AI Woes Spark Urgency
Zuckerberg’s sudden push came after Meta’s own struggles in the AI race became impossible to ignore. In April, Meta’s latest AI model release was criticized for allegedly manipulating benchmark scores to appear more powerful than it actually was. The launch of a new flagship model was also delayed, raising serious doubts about Meta’s ability to keep up with rivals like OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
To turn things around, Zuckerberg is acting as Meta’s “recruiter-in-chief.” According to The Wall Street Journal, he has tried to hire OpenAI co-founders John Schulman and Ilya Sutskever, and even attempted to bring on Bill Peebles, who helped create OpenAI’s Sora video generator. None of them accepted. Still, Zuckerberg presses on.
He even made a massive investment in Scale AI—$14 billion for a stake in the company and to bring its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, into Meta to lead the new superintelligence team. As WSJ reported, that sum made Wang “one of the most lucrative hires in history.”
Inside the “Recruiting Party” Chat
Zuckerberg is part of a private WhatsApp group called “Recruiting Party 🎉” alongside top Meta executives like Ruta Singh and Janelle Gale. This is where they identify potential hires. Once a promising candidate is found, Zuckerberg asks for their preferred method of contact and reaches out directly.
He believes there’s a “flywheel” effect in recruiting. If he can get one top person, that person will lead him to more. He’s also diving deep into AI research papers, trying to discover who is behind the breakthroughs, not just who gets the credit. He believes that by understanding the technology himself, he can better target the real builders.
Promises of Unlimited Resources
To sweeten the deal, Zuckerberg is offering more than just money. He tells researchers they won’t have to worry about computing power, budgets, or infrastructure. Meta, he says, has “hundreds of billions of dollars” in advertising revenue and “plentiful access to the most powerful chips” on the market.
He’s also offering freedom. Prospective hires are being told they’ll have autonomy to pursue big, bold ideas without interference. But not everyone is convinced.
Some are cautious because of Meta’s history of internal reshuffles and unclear direction. Others are concerned about philosophical divisions inside Meta itself. One major tension comes from Meta’s chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun. According to WSJ, LeCun “doesn’t believe that the large language models that the company and others in the industry are currently building will get the world to artificial intelligence that is smarter than human beings.”
In other words, Meta’s top AI researcher doesn’t agree with the very premise behind the “Superintelligence” lab.
The Industry-Wide Battle for Brains
Meta isn’t the only one chasing AI talent. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Amazon are also in the hunt. OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman said, “At least so far, none of our best people have decided to take them up on that,” referring to Meta’s offers. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t being targeted. Altman is responding with his own counteroffers, raising salaries and expanding roles to keep top performers from jumping ship.
In today’s AI market, talent is rare—and expensive. But it’s also crucial. Without the right people, even the best-funded companies fall behind.
Employers Want AI Skills, Not Experience
According to Microsoft and LinkedIn’s 2024 Work Trend Index, the entire job market is shifting toward AI. Their survey of 31,000 professionals in 31 countries found that 71% of employers now prefer candidates with AI skills over those with traditional industry experience. That’s a major shift.
Yet only 25% of companies plan to offer AI training this year. Workers are taking it upon themselves to learn. Already, 75% of knowledge workers say they use AI tools at work. A majority of them are bringing their own tools—meaning their companies aren’t even providing official support.
Despite the enthusiasm, many companies still don’t have a clear vision for AI. About 60% of business leaders say they worry their organization lacks a plan to use the technology. Even though 79% of executives say AI is essential to staying competitive, many are struggling to keep up.
While some professionals see AI as an opportunity to boost their careers, others fear being replaced. A LinkedIn study found that 46% of workers are considering quitting this year, and that number jumps to 85% in the U.S.
Many fear that AI will make their jobs obsolete. Klarna’s CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski recently said, “Our AI assistant now performs the work of 700 employees.” He added that average resolution times dropped from 11 minutes to just 2 minutes, while maintaining the same customer satisfaction scores as human agents.
Amazon’s AWS chief Matt Garman predicted that in the near future, “most developers are not coding.” He explained that developers would shift their skills toward using AI tools to build, rather than writing code line-by-line themselves.
The tech world isn’t slowing down. Companies like Klarna have cut thousands of jobs, even while continuing to hire AI engineers.
Upskill or Be Left Behind
As the demand for AI expertise grows, workers are responding. LinkedIn saw a 160% increase in non-technical professionals taking AI courses last year. There was also a 142-fold rise in members adding AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot to their profiles.
Online platforms like Coursera, Datacamp, Codecademy, and Udemy are booming. Even top universities like Stanford are expanding their deep learning programs to meet the demand.
According to Oxford University’s March 2025 report, companies are now offering salary premiums for AI-capable hires, even in junior roles. The market is clear: people who understand AI are in, and those who don’t are being left behind.
Can Meta Turn It Around?
Zuckerberg’s high-stakes push for AI talent is bold, aggressive, and personal. He’s betting that his leadership, deep pockets, and hands-on approach can overcome Meta’s past failures and reshape its future.
But it remains to be seen whether he can convince enough top-tier researchers to believe in his vision. While other CEOs are handing out job offers, Zuckerberg is showing up himself. In today’s talent war, that personal touch might be Meta’s secret weapon.
If it works, Meta could become a leader in superintelligent AI. If not, it may prove that even billions of dollars can’t buy innovation without clarity, trust, and direction.
