Meta’s relentless push to dominate the AI race is facing unexpected resistance. After assembling a high-powered team of researchers and pouring billions into its Superintelligence unit, the tech giant’s latest attempt to lure top minds has hit a roadblock—at Thinking Machines Lab (TML), the startup led by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati.

According to a recent Wired report, Meta has been attempting to recruit staff from Murati’s year-old company, offering eye-watering compensation packages. Mark Zuckerberg himself is reportedly sending initial feelers—starting with a casual WhatsApp message—followed by fast-tracked interviews with top Meta executives, including CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth.

One senior researcher was allegedly offered over $1 billion spread across several years, while others were promised hundreds of millions, with first-year payouts ranging from $50 to $100 million. Still, not a single TML employee has accepted the offer so far.

Meta officially claims that its recruitment approach isn’t as aggressive as rumoured, but the scale of outreach and the jaw-dropping numbers suggest otherwise. For now, the effort has yielded little beyond industry chatter.

Founded in 2024, TML has yet to release a product but is already valued at $12 billion, thanks to a historic seed funding round. While Meta leans on open-source disruption and heavy spending, Murati’s team is reportedly driven by mission and vision rather than monetary gain.

Speaking on this broader strategy, Demis Hassabis, CEO and cofounder of DeepMind, commented, “There’s a strategy that Meta is taking right now. I think the people who are real believers in the mission of AGI and what it can do, and understand the consequences, both good and bad, are mostly doing it to be at the frontier, so they can help influence how that plays out and steward the technology safely into the world.”

Even with a headcount of nearly two dozen top researchers, Meta’s Superintelligence Labs is being closely scrutinized by the AI community. Some insiders view the lab as a hotbed of talent but lacking clear direction. Others are withholding judgment, watching to see whether Meta can convert its big bet into something transformative.

Despite lagging behind OpenAI in releasing groundbreaking models, Meta aims to upend the space by open-sourcing its AI systems. This "commoditize everything" approach is designed to undercut rivals like ChatGPT, but it hasn't been without internal controversy. Reports claim that Meta’s Llama 4 model faced performance issues and was launched amid benchmarking disputes meant to make it appear stronger than it was.

Still, Meta is banking on the idea that once its vision solidifies, the world’s best AI minds will come around. For now, however, Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab stands as a quiet but firm symbol of purpose over profit—and proof that in today’s AI gold rush, loyalty and mission may still outshine billion-dollar offers.