Why AI researchers are getting paid like NBA All-Stars

Hello, and welcome to Decoder! This is Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host and deputy editor at The Verge. Today, I’m joined by Hayden Field, The Verge’s senior AI reporter. We’re talking about the AI talent wars and why some researchers are suddenly getting traded like they’re NBA superstars.

If you’ve been paying attention at all to the AI industry this past month, you’ve likely seen stories about the hiring frenzy that’s been happening at Big Tech, research labs, and AI startups. Leading the charge is Mark Zuckerberg, who’s been making some truly unprecedented job offers to try and lure top talent to Meta. 

But there’s a whole lot more to this story. Hayden and I have been reporting on this for the past several weeks to get a sense of how big some of these offers really are, why companies like Google are opting to hire instead of acquire, and what it means that some of the most sought-after AI experts in the world are no longer motivated by money alone.

If you’d like to read more on what we talked about in this episode, check out the links below:

• OpenAI’s Windsurf deal is off — and Windsurf’s CEO is going to Google | The Verge
• Mark Zuckerberg promises you can trust him with superintelligent AI | The Verge
• Meta is trying to win the AI race with money — but not everyone can be bought | The Verge
• Meta says it’s winning the talent war with OpenAI | Command Line
• Google gets its swag back | Command Line
• The AI talent wars are just getting started | Command Line
• Meta tried to buy Safe Superintelligence, hired CEO Daniel Gross instead | CNBC
• Apple loses top AI models executive to Meta’s hiring spree | Bloomberg
• Meta’s AI recruiting campaign finds a new target | Wired
• Anthropic hires back two coding AI leaders from Anysphere | The Information

_{Questions or comments about this episode? Hit us up at decoder@theverge.com. We really do read every email!}