Meta poaches Apple executives for over $200 million, escalating the talent war for AI in Silicon Valley

According to Zhitong Finance APP, the compensation package offered by Meta Platforms Inc. (META.US) for new members of its "superintelligence" team has attracted industry attention. According to informed sources, the company hired former Apple (AAPL.US) AI model team leader Pang Ruoming with a total compensation exceeding $200 million, a figure that far surpasses the compensation levels of other Apple executives, excluding CEO Tim Cook. Apple ultimately chose not to match this offer, indirectly confirming the aggressive nature of Meta's talent recruitment. The company, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, is forming a superintelligence team focused on developing AI systems that surpass human capabilities, with a compensation structure that features a significant component of stock, along with a base salary and signing bonus. Informed sources indicated that when candidates need to forgo equity in their original startup, cash compensation would be correspondingly increased. The equity portion has multiple unlocking conditions, including service commitments and specific performance metrics, such as requiring Meta's stock price to reach an agreed increase in certain years, with contract terms generally exceeding the conventional four-year stock option exercise period. The team has attracted several top talents in the industry, including not only Pang Ruoming but also former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, AI startup founder Daniel Gross, and Alexandr Wang, co-founder of Scale AI, who was brought in through a 49% stake valued at $14.3 billion. This high-profile recruitment strategy has already surpassed the compensation levels of traditional corporate executives, even exceeding those of CEOs at major global banks. The recent talent competition in the industry has been reignited by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's public statements. Altman revealed in a podcast that Meta had offered signing bonuses of up to $100 million for superintelligence team members but emphasized that OpenAI retained core talent due to its cultural advantages. However, real-world data shows that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has successfully poached over a dozen top researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and other institutions, demonstrating strong appeal. As the AI race in Silicon Valley intensifies, Altman disclosed that he will meet with Zuckerberg during the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, this week, a conversation that could bring new variables to the talent competition. It is worth noting that despite Meta's astronomical salaries, the long-term nature of equity vesting and its strong correlation with company performance means that actual returns have variables. This structural design reflects both the desire for talent and the cautious balance that tech giants must maintain in the AI arms race