Technology
Meta Lures Apple’s Top AI Scientist Ruoming Pang With $200M+ Package Amid Talent War
Meta Platforms has poached Apple’s top AI leader Ruoming Pang with a staggering compensation package worth over $200 million. This move adds to Meta’s aggressive push to dominate the artificial intelligence space through its elite “Superintelligence Lab.”
Menlo Park, CA – Meta Platforms Inc. has intensified the ongoing AI talent war by offering one of the largest compensation deals in Silicon Valley history to Apple’s former AI leader, Ruoming Pang. The pay package, estimated at over $200 million, marks Meta’s most aggressive recruitment effort yet as it builds its high-profile “Superintelligence Lab.”
According to reports, Pang — who previously led Apple’s AI models team — was lured with a multi-year compensation plan including base salary, a large signing bonus, and stock options tied to performance and retention metrics. The offer was reportedly far above Apple’s typical executive pay scale, excluding CEO Tim Cook.
A “Superintelligence” Dream Team
Pang’s addition is part of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious push to assemble a world-class AI team. The Superintelligence Lab (MSL) now includes a roster of heavyweights:
Nat Friedman, former GitHub CEO
Daniel Gross, co-founder of AI startup Cue
Yuanzhi Li, formerly at OpenAI
Anton Bakhtin, previously with Anthropic
Alexandr Wang, co-founder of Scale AI, now Meta’s Chief AI Officer through a $14.3B stake acquisition
Compensation Rivals Top CEO Pay
Sources indicate that compensation for Meta’s AI hires rivals — and in some cases exceeds — CEO salaries at top Wall Street banks, although much of the total value is tied to multi-year vesting schedules and stock performance targets.
Meta’s contracts often require stock to grow by a set percentage to trigger payout, and most agreements extend beyond the standard four-year vesting cycle — ensuring long-term loyalty.
In cases like Pang’s, where recruits walk away from startup equity or other high-value opportunities, Meta reportedly increases signing bonuses to close the gap.
AI Talent War Escalates With OpenAI and Apple
The hire follows OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s June remarks that Meta has offered signing bonuses as high as $100 million to lure his team members — though he claimed most stayed due to OpenAI’s culture and mission.
Despite this, Meta has successfully poached over 10 top researchers from OpenAI, along with high-profile engineers from Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and now Apple.
Altman and Zuckerberg have not spoken since Meta began targeting OpenAI talent but are expected to cross paths at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley this week.