Mira Murati's team rejects $1.5B Meta offers Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's billion-dollar recruitment blitz hit a major roadblock when former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati rejected his $1 billion acquisition offer for her AI startup Thinking Machines Lab. The tech giant's subsequent "full-scale raid" to poach the startup's top talent also failed, with co-founder Andrew Tulloch declining a $1.5 billion compensation package over six years. The extraordinary offers highlight the fierce competition for AI talent as tech giants race to dominate artificial intelligence. According to The Wall Street Journal, Zuckerberg personally approached more than a dozen employees from the 50-person startup after Murati turned down the acquisition proposal. Despite packages ranging from $200 million to $1 billion, not a single team member accepted Meta's offers.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ainvest.com/news/mark-zuckerberg-1-5-billion-offer-andrew-tulloch-test-loyalty-2508/"></a> Tulloch, an Australian computer scientist who previously worked at Meta from 2012 to 2023, was Meta's primary target in the recruitment campaign. The company offered him a package worth up to $1.5 billion over six years, contingent on bonuses and stock performance. The offer represented an attempt to lure back the distinguished engineer who had contributed to key AI infrastructure, including PyTorch, during his previous tenure at the social media giant. "The loyalty displayed by Murati's team stands out" in an industry where massive paydays typically drive decisions, noted reports. Tulloch cited loyalty to Murati and their shared vision as reasons for declining the offer.<a target="_blank" href="https://thefederal.com/category/business/who-is-mira-murati-ex-openai-cto-who-turned-down-meta-usd-1-bn-offer-200484"></a> The rejection comes as Meta struggles to keep pace with competitors in the AI race. The company has reached out to more than 100 OpenAI employees and successfully hired at least 10, while also targeting researchers from other AI startups including Anthropic. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone called the reported $1.5 billion figure "inaccurate and ridiculous," though confirmed that significant offers were made. The campaign reflects Zuckerberg's determination to bolster his recently launched Superintelligence Lab. While some researchers have joined Meta—including 24-year-old Matt Deitke, who accepted a $250 million package after initially declining $125 million—the Thinking Machines Lab team remained unified in their refusal.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/mira-murati-said-no-to-mark-zuckerberg-proposal-so-he-launched-15-billion-war-to-hire-her-top-engineer-2767063-2025-08-06"></a> Thinking Machines Lab, founded in early 2025 by Murati and Tulloch, has achieved a $12 billion valuation despite not launching a product yet. The startup's focus on building customizable, interpretable AI systems appears to have resonated with its team, who prioritized maintaining independence over joining a corporate giant. The rejections underscore a growing trend in the AI community where top researchers value mission-driven work and autonomy over financial incentives, even when those incentives reach unprecedented levels.
