Meta offered AI expert $1.25 billion over four years in hire attempt, person still said no

Meta recently shocked the tech world by reportedly dangling $1.25 billion over four years to recruit a top-tier AI expert.

According to Daniel Francis, founder of the AI startup Abel, the offer would have equated to more than $300 million per year, yet the candidate reportedly declined.

Francis shared the story with his social media following on Sunday, igniting a frenzy of comments online.

This latest development reflects the escalating tension in today’s AI talent wars.

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Meta is offering crazy packages to lure talent

Abel, Francis’s own venture, uses AI to generate police reports from body-camera footage and emergency dispatch transcripts.

Francis first rose to fame in 2023 when he staged a hoax pretending to be a disgruntled, Musk-fired Twitter employee.

In a twist nobody could have expected, this act ultimately led to him being hired by Elon Musk’s company.

Now, he’s sounding the alarm over the wild compensation packages being offered to AI talent.

Update: was informed of a $1.25 billion offer for four years, new highest I've seen

guys what the hell is going on https://t.co/n5vDZ7Dl5y

— Daniel (@growing_daniel) July 20, 2025

That $1.25 billion figure joins a growing body of evidence suggesting that nine- and ten-figure packages are becoming more than mere exceptions.

In June, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that Meta had offered signing bonuses as high as $100 million to lure his engineers.

However, Altman said that despite these ‘giant offers’, none of the company’s ‘best people’ have taken up the offer.

Meta is also actively building a ‘superintelligence’ lab, and offering seven‑ to nine‑figure packages to entice elite AI experts.

Mark Zuckerberg’s aggressive hiring spree goes hand-in-hand with the company’s massive AI infrastructure investments.

The company recently declared a multibillion-dollar stake in data-labeling firm Scale AI and brought aboard its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead the new effort .

Zuckerberg, who is currently the third richest person in the world, is reportedly personally involved in recruiting.

Reports state that he has even reconfigured Meta’s $1 billion headquarters, so key hires can sit near him.

New normal for AI experts, or strategic gamble?

Skepticism is growing over compensation-heavy tactics.

Altman famously criticized Meta’s approach to hiring, stating his belief that money won’t be enough to recruit the best tech talent.

He also said Meta’s strategy failed to foster a creative, mission-driven culture, and that ‘missionaries will beat mercenaries’ in the long run.

It’s perhaps no surprise the OpenAI CEO is so dismissive of the money Meta is throwing around, given that he has already pledged to give away most of his $2 billion fortune.

In addition, an ex-OpenAI engineer who recently joined Meta also denied receiving a $100 million bonus, calling the rumor ‘fake news’.

Meta’s recruitment frenzy is raising big questions: Are these nine- and 10-figure offers genuine? Or are they strategic gambits meant to destabilize rivals?

As the AI arms race heats up, the fascinating truth behind these offers may unfold only with time.

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