Meta is ramping up its high-stakes recruitment drive for the Super Intelligence Lab, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally leading the charge. The company is making offers worth hundreds of millions—and in some cases, exceeding a billion dollars—to secure AI’s most in-demand innovators.

Mira Murati – Founder, Thinking Machines Lab
Murati, once OpenAI’s CTO, has attracted intense interest from Meta, which has reached out to more than a dozen members of her startup. Reported offers span from $200 million to $500 million over four years, with one exceptional case crossing the $1 billion mark. Some first-year guarantees have been as high as $100 million.

Matt Deitke – AI Prodigy (Vercept / Allen Institute)
At 24 years old, Deitke developed the multimodal chatbot Molmo. He initially turned down a $125 million package before agreeing to a $250 million, four-year deal that could see him take home $100 million in his first year.

Michael Koch – CEO, HubKonnect
As the creator of Hyperlocal Intelligence, Koch has engineered AI systems that combine vast neural network capabilities with live, location-specific data for pinpoint decision-making. Meta sees his approach as central to linking global AI power with on-the-ground adaptability.

Ruoming Pang – Former Apple AI Executive
Pang, who helmed Apple’s Foundation Models efforts, is believed to have received offers valued in the tens of millions annually, reflecting Meta’s aggressive pursuit.

Andrew Tulloch – Co-Founder, Thinking Machines Lab
Tulloch is said to have been offered up to $1.5 billion over six years. While Meta disputes that number, the size of the proposal illustrates just how fierce the fight for AI leadership has become.