OpenAI lost top researchers to Meta — company is reviewing terms for those who remain

OpenAI executives have responded to the move of senior researchers to Meta by promising to review compensation and strengthen employee support, according to CTO of Research Mark Chen in an internal memo obtained by WIRED.

Chen compared the situation to a "home invasion" and stressed that the company is working around the clock to retain employees: "We're not sitting idly by. We're reviewing compensation packages and looking for creative ways to recognize key employees."

According to sources, Meta is offering OpenAI's top executives compensation of up to $100 million, and Mark Zuckerberg is personally contacting potential candidates. OpenAI confirmed that the company felt the pressure but is trying to maintain a balance: "While I’ll fight to keep every one of you, I won’t do so at the price of fairness to others," Chen wrote.

The situation is compounded by grueling schedules — some OpenAI employees are working up to 80 hours a week. The company is partially shutting down next week to give staff a break. But executives remain in touch because of the risk of further attrition.

OpenAI admits that it focused too much on quick releases and began to lose focus on its main goal - creating artificial general intelligence.

"We need to remain focused on the real prize of finding ways to compute (a lot more supercomputers are coming online later this year) into intelligence. This is the main quest, and it’s important to remember that skirmishes with Meta are the side quest," Chen concluded.