OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Slams Meta's Poaching Of AI Talent - 'Missionaries Will Beat Mercenaries'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back Monday against Meta’s recent hiring spree, which included several former OpenAI researchers, calling the rival company’s tactics “distasteful” and warning of looming cultural issues. In a Slack message obtained by WIRED, Altman defended OpenAI’s mission, emphasizing that while Meta landed “a few great people,” it missed out on the top talent and had to dig “far down their list.” Meta recently launched a superintelligence team led by Alexandr Wang and Nat Friedman, hiring at least four ex-OpenAI staffers. Altman said, “Missionaries will beat mercenaries,” and emphasized that OpenAI is reviewing compensation for its entire research team. He argued that OpenAI offers greater long-term upside than Meta but warned that Meta’s approach could cause serious cultural issues in the future.