DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis believes Meta's extensive hiring campaigns reveal a desperate effort to stay competitive in the AI arms race
Meta's Aggressive AI Talent Strategy
Meta, the tech giant, is making a significant push to secure leadership in the artificial intelligence (AI) field with an ambitious strategy that encompasses aggressive talent acquisition, high-value compensation, visionary projects, and strategic organizational restructuring.
The company's approach is evident in its high-profile hires, such as Scale AI's former CEO, Alexandr Wang, and Nat Friedman, the former chief executive at GitHub. Wang, now serving as Meta's Chief AI Officer, joined the company following a $14.3 billion investment in the AI startup.
Meta's strategy to attract top AI talent includes lucrative compensation packages. In some cases, these packages have exceeded $100 million, as reported in early 2024. This aggressive recruitment has seen Meta poach talent from competitors, weakening rivals by siphoning off their best AI talent.
To support these next-generation AI models, Meta has planned to deploy an impressive 600,000 GPUs in 2025, a 170% increase from 2024. This massive computing infrastructure will power projects like the Meta Superintelligence Labs, a new division aimed at driving development of new foundation models.
However, this ambitious approach has not been without challenges. In August 2025, Meta implemented a hiring freeze and reorganization within its AI division. This move was described as part of "basic organizational planning" to create a more solid structure for its superintelligence efforts. The pause allows Meta to integrate new hires effectively and manage internal tensions that emerged between the high-profile newcomers and existing researchers.
The internal challenges revealed include tensions between well-compensated new hires and established teams, leading to some dissatisfaction and threats of departure from existing staff. The reorganization seeks to address these cultural and operational risks to optimize team performance and retention.
The demand for AI skills is driving up salaries in various industries, creating a competitive landscape for enterprises seeking to hire AI talent. According to research from Amazon Web Services (AWS) in early 2024, employers are willing to pay a 31% premium for staff with relevant AI expertise. Typical salaries for AI workers top $100,000, with a quarter earning between $150,000 and $200,000, according to the CloudZero study.
The shortage of AI talent and the high salary demands are creating challenges for some enterprises in their hiring efforts. Meta's quest to secure top talent has seen the tech giant dangle eye-watering offers to high-profile figures from the generative AI space. However, the company's approach carries risks related to costs and team cohesion, which the current hiring freeze aims to mitigate.
[1] TechCrunch. (2025, February 1). Meta acquires Scale AI for $14.3 billion, aiming to bolster AI capabilities. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/01/meta-acquires-scale-ai-for-14-3-billion-aiming-to-bolster-ai-capabilities/
[2] The Verge. (2025, August 15). Meta freezes AI hiring and reorganizes division amid internal tensions. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2025/8/15/21371849/meta-freezes-ai-hiring-reorganizes-division-internal-tensions
[3] Financial Times. (2025, March 1). Meta unveils Superintelligence Labs, a new division focused on AI. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/202503010935056
- Meta's aggressive recruitment strategy in cybersecurity, aiming to secure top AI talent, has seen them poach technology experts from competitors, fueling the demand for artificial-intelligence specialists.
- The deployment of an impressive 600,000 GPUs in 2025 by Meta is a part of their ambitious cybersecurity plan, powering projects like the Meta Superintelligence Labs, which leverages artificial-intelligence and technology to develop new foundation models.
