OpenAI's chief researcher says Mark Zuckerberg 'hand-delivered soup' to an employee in a recruiting effort

In an unusual twist in the competitive landscape of AI recruitment, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has reportedly taken a hands-on approach to attract talent from rival OpenAI. Mark Chen, OpenAI's chief research officer, revealed that Zuckerberg personally delivered homemade soup to an OpenAI employee as part of an effort to entice them to join Meta. Chen recounted this surprising tactic during a conversation with Ashlee Vance on the "Core Memory" podcast. He stated, "It's been kind of interesting and fun to see it escalate over time. Zuck actually went and hand-delivered soup to people that he was trying to recruit from us." This unexpected gesture left Chen taken aback, though he humorously noted that he later reciprocated by delivering soup to potential recruits from Meta. The ongoing battle for AI talent highlights OpenAI's prominent position in the industry, as Chen described the constant recruitment attempts his team faces. "We're always under attack," he remarked, emphasizing that the pursuit of OpenAI's researchers and engineers reflects the company's leading role in the AI domain. "Any company starting out wants to recruit from OpenAI. They seek our expertise and vision. OpenAI has become a breeding ground for star researchers in AI today." Meta has been particularly aggressive in this talent acquisition race. In June, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman disclosed that Meta attempted to lure some of his engineers with substantial signing bonuses amounting to $100 million. While no top talent was lost at that time, it was noted that ChatGPT co-creator Shengjia Zhao eventually joined Meta's Superintelligence Lab. Chen mentioned that Meta's attempts to recruit nearly half of his direct reports were largely unsuccessful, but he praised OpenAI's ability to retain its top talent. Despite the fierce competition, a spokesperson for Meta declined to provide comments on this recruitment strategy. The race for top AI researchers is intensifying, as the number of individuals capable of achieving significant breakthroughs remains limited, akin to searching for a player of LeBron James' caliber in basketball, as suggested by Databricks' vice president of AI, Naveen Rao.