Meta aims to recruit Apple's top AI executive for a staggering sum of $200 million.
In the rapidly evolving world of technology, the competition to secure top AI talent has reached unprecedented heights. This dynamic is exemplified by Meta's recent successful recruitment of Ruoming Pang, a leading AI executive from Apple.
Pang, who was Apple's top executive overseeing its AI foundation models, is leaving Apple to join Meta's newly created Superintelligence Labs. The compensation package reportedly worth over $200 million makes Pang one of the highest-paid executives in the tech sector if he accepts Meta's offer [5][1][2].
This move is a significant step in Meta's aggressive recruitment strategy, spearheaded by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg has been actively courting prominent AI talent, including Scale AI's Alexandr Wang and researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic, reinforcing Meta’s focus on next-generation AI technologies [1][2][3].
The intense competition for AI talent is not limited to Meta. Tech giants such as Apple, Google, OpenAI, and others are also vying for the best minds in the field. This war for talent has led to compensation figures rivaling those of bank mergers or sports megadeals [6].
For Meta, the stakes are high. The company's AI endeavours, while ambitious, have received lukewarm enthusiasm. Llama 4, for instance, has faced criticism, and several key researchers have left the company [7]. The success of Meta's AI endeavours remains uncertain, as there is a risk of becoming a giant with too many loose ends [8].
Meta's strategy is clear: to attract "the brightest mind in the room", but finding such profiles is not easy [9]. The company is willing to break the bank to get ahead of its competitors in the race for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). In 2025, Meta plans to invest up to 65 billion dollars for the development of AGI [10].
Pang's departure from Apple is a significant setback for the company, which is still developing its generative AI strategy. Apple Intelligence, launched in 2024, has faced criticism for making mistakes in headlines and summaries [4]. Pang led the team that built the foundational models behind Apple Intelligence, and his departure may signal more leadership challenges ahead for Apple in AI [2][3][4].
As the race for AI talent continues, it remains to be seen who will emerge as the frontrunner in the development of AGI. One thing is certain: the future of AI is being shaped by the decisions made today in the high-stakes battle for top talent.
The recruitment of Ruoming Pang, a leading AI executive from Apple, by Meta's Superintelligence Labs highlights the intense competition in the technology industry for artificial-intelligence talent. With a compensation package worth over $200 million, the battle for talented AI minds is not only between Meta and tech giants like Apple, Google, OpenAI, but also resembles bank mergers or sports megadeals in terms of the sums involved.
