Meta's Poaching Spree Continues; Apple Executive Hired For Nearly Rs 1,712 Crore Package

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New Delhi: Meta has pulled off a major hire in the competitive world of AI talent, bringing on board Ruoming Pang who is the former head of Apple’s AI models team. According to Bloomberg, Meta’s offer to Pang ranks among the most generous in the industry with a staggering compensation package reportedly exceeding 200 million dollars (Rs 1712 crore) over several years.

An Offer Too Big to Match

Meta’s deal for Ruoming Pang was simply out of Apple’s league. It included a high base salary which is a hefty signing bonus and a large chunk of Meta stock most of which will vest over time. This structure which is common in Silicon Valley has been designed to keep top talent locked in for the long haul.

Inside Meta’s Superintelligence Team

Ruoming Pang’s massive pay package is in line with what other members of Meta’s elite Superintelligence team are receiving. This team is focused on building AI systems that can perform tasks on the same level as humans. It now includes some of the brightest minds in the field, including AI startup founder Daniel Gross and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman.

Meta’s Bold AI Moves Keep Coming

Meta isn’t slowing down in its AI push. It recently acquired a 4 per cent stake in Scale AI at a whopping 14.3 billion dollars. This has brought co-founder Alexandr Wang into the fold. The company also hired Trapit Bansal, a key figure behind scaling OpenAI’s models. Meta is gearing up to make up for lost time and potentially leap ahead in the AI race with top names joining its Superintelligence team. While Apple has remained silent on the matter, OpenAI chief Sam Altman has already taken a swipe at Meta for aggressively poaching talent.