Microsoft Reportedly Trying to Onboard Meta's AI Talent With Multimillion-dollar Offers

Every now and then, we hear about some other AI-heavy company poaching another’s AI talent. Well, that trend doesn’t seem to stop, as top tech giants like Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and others are racing to be the best when it comes to AI.

Last month, reports emerged about Meta trying to poach OpenAI talent. In response, OpenAI initially warned its staffs, but later rewarded 1000 AI talents with a cumulative bonus of $1.5 billion. Well, Microsoft is stepping in as well, with Meta firmly in its sights.

According to insiders and internal documents seen by Business Insider, the company has compiled a “most-wanted” list of Meta’s engineers and researchers, complete with names, roles, and locations. These targets aren’t random; they’re from highly qualified teams like Reality Labs, GenAI Infrastructure, and Meta AI Research.

To reel them in, Microsoft has rolled out a new fast-track hiring process that flags candidates as “critical AI talent.” This label gets them in front of top executives, who respond with Microsoft’s best possible offer within 24 hours.

Microsoft has reportedly set up a special recruiting team within its AI division, led by industry veterans Mustafa Suleyman and Jay Parikh, to draft multimillion-dollar offers, sometimes with hefty on-hire bonuses.

This tailored approach goes beyond Microsoft’s usual pay bands. The reported document also offers a quick look at how the company handles that process. Apparently, recruiters provide “offer rationale” reports and tap into private “compensation modelers”, and even bring in pay consultants to come up with a pay range.

While the company has cut thousands of jobs this year, it insists on keeping the headcount low, possibly to compensate for aggressive AI hiring elsewhere. All that said, the AI talent war is heating up, and for Microsoft, Meta’s AI talent group is looking like its prime recruiting ground.

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