‘No $100M bonus’: Lucas Beyer confirms Meta switch, counters Sam Altman’s claim

Lucas Beyer, a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence, has officially announced his transition from OpenAI to Meta Platforms. This move adds him to a growing list of notable departures from OpenAI, stirring excitement and speculation within the tech community. In a recent social media update, Beyer responded to rumors regarding a substantial $100 million signing bonus, labeling the claims as "fake news." His comments came shortly after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman mentioned on the Uncapped podcast that Meta was allegedly offering significant incentives to attract talent from OpenAI. Altman expressed his astonishment at the situation, stating, "It is crazy," while also expressing satisfaction that the majority of his team opted to remain at OpenAI. In his post, Beyer confirmed two key points: his commitment to joining Meta and the denial of any extravagant signing bonus. He expressed enthusiasm for the future, promising to share more information in due course. Beyer is not making this move alone; he is joined by fellow researchers Alexander Kolesnikov and Xiaohua Zhai, who also previously worked at Google DeepMind before their time at OpenAI’s Zurich office. Their departure has been confirmed by an OpenAI spokesperson, emphasizing the escalating competition among tech giants to secure elite AI expertise. Sources suggest that Meta's aggressive hiring strategy is part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's initiative to push forward in the realm of "superintelligence" research. This renewed focus appears to be a response to a lukewarm industry reaction to Meta’s latest large language model. While specific details about the new roles for Beyer and his colleagues at Meta remain undisclosed, their extensive backgrounds indicate a significant advantage for Zuckerberg’s aspirations in advanced AI research.