Meta has reportedly offered Matt Deitke, a 24-year-old AI researcher and Ph.D. dropout, a compensation package worth up to $250 million (≈ ₹2,200 crore) over four years after he declined an initial $125 million (≈ ₹1,000 crore) offer .
Deitke, who quit his CS Ph.D. at the University of Washington, gained prominence at the Allen Institute for AI, leading development of the multimodal chatbot Molmo, and later co-founded Vercept, an AI startup that raised $16.5 million. His work earned him an Outstanding Paper Award at NeurIPS 2022
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly intervened directly after the initial offer was turned down, meeting with Deitke in person and doubling the package to lock him in. The revised offer reportedly includes $100 million in the first year alone, contingent on performance and stock value .
Deitke, recognized for developing the multimodal chatbot Molmo at the Allen Institute for AI and co-founding Vercept, a well-funded AI startup, has become one of the most sought-after talents in the field. His recruitment underscores the intensifying AI talent war, where tech giants are offering unprecedented compensation to secure top researchers.
This move reflects the intensifying talent war in AI, where firms are offering superstar pay to lock in top researchers. Meta has spent over $1 billion on AI recruiting and is increasing capital expenditures to $72 billion in 2025 to advance its AI ambitions. Critics raise concerns over growing income inequality and job displacement tied to these elite packages, even as the firm ramps up AI-driven investments.
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