OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Meta had offered some OpenAI staff “$100 million signing bonuses,” with annual compensation potentially higher. But that figure is Altman’s description, not a verified cash payment: Meta disputed how the packages were characterized, and OpenAI researcher Lucas Beyer said he and two colleagues were not offered $100 million sign-on bonuses.
What Sam Altman said Meta offered
On the Uncapped podcast, published June 17, 2025, Altman said Meta had made very large offers to people on OpenAI’s team as it built a superintelligence group. He described them as “$100 million signing bonuses” and said annual compensation would be higher still. Altman also said none of OpenAI’s best people had accepted as of his appearance. TechCrunch reported his remarks.
That statement came from an executive whose company was competing to retain talent. The reports available at the time did not include offer letters or independently verified terms for specific employees. The Guardian reported the next day that Meta had not confirmed Altman’s claim and OpenAI had nothing to add beyond its CEO’s comments. The Guardian’s report described the claim as unconfirmed.
Why the $100 million figure is disputed
Meta’s response challenged the description of the offers as simple cash bonuses paid upon signing. TechCrunch quoted Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth saying the “actual terms of the offer” were not a “sign-on bonus” but involved “all these different things.” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone later told WIRED: “These statements are untrue – the size and structure of these compensation packages have been misrepresented all over the place.” WIRED reported Stone’s statement.
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The distinction matters financially. A signing bonus generally means money paid for agreeing to join; a compensation package can combine cash, equity, payments over time, or other terms. The cited coverage does not establish the cash amount, timing, stock component, or performance conditions of each individual Meta offer. It therefore does not verify that any OpenAI employee was promised $100 million in immediate cash.
What an OpenAI researcher said about joining Meta
OpenAI researcher Lucas Beyer publicly confirmed that he and two colleagues were joining Meta, while rejecting the reported bonus figure for their case: “1) yes, we will be joining Meta. 2) no, we did not get 100M sign-on, that’s fake news.” TechCrunch reported Beyer’s statement and Bosworth’s comments in its June 27 follow-up. Read the follow-up.
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Beyer’s denial addresses his group’s reported terms; it does not establish what every other recruit was offered. Likewise, later reporting that Meta had hired at least seven people from OpenAI for its effort confirms recruiting and movement between companies, not the value or structure of any one person’s compensation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Other reported figures are not a market benchmark
TechCrunch’s June 27 report cited a venture investor who said an unnamed AI researcher had received and declined an $18 million Meta offer. The report did not identify the researcher or provide contract documentation. Treat that amount as an attributed anecdote, not proof of a typical offer or a verified cash signing bonus.
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Neither the $100 million claim nor the $18 million account establishes how common such offers were. The reports provide no representative statistic for compensation among recruited AI researchers.
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What is established—and what is not
| Question | What the reporting establishes |
|---|---|
| Did Altman say Meta offered $100 million signing bonuses? | Yes. He used that description on the Uncapped podcast, as reported by TechCrunch on June 17, 2025. |
| Did Meta agree that these were $100 million sign-on bonuses? | No. Meta representatives disputed the description and said the size and structure of packages had been misrepresented. |
| Did OpenAI researchers join Meta? | Yes. Beyer confirmed that he and two colleagues were joining; WIRED later reported Meta had hired at least seven OpenAI staffers for the effort. |
| Is a $100 million cash bonus to a named recruit independently verified? | No. The cited reporting does not provide offer documents or verified individual contract terms. |
| Is $18 million a typical or representative offer? | No. It was an investor’s account about an unnamed researcher, not a market statistic. |
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