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Economic Times
13 minutes ago
- Economic Times
PhDs, elite lab experience, and AI brilliance: Mark Zuckerberg's secret recruitment list for superintelligence lab revealed
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is on an aggressive hunt for the brightest minds in artificial intelligence, personally spearheading recruitment for his new superintelligence lab. At the heart of this effort is a carefully curated document known as 'The List'—a roster of top-tier AI talent targeted for Meta's ambitious projects. According to The Wall Street Journal , most names on The List hold PhDs from elite institutions like UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon, with stints at leading AI hubs such as OpenAI in San Francisco and Google DeepMind in London. Typically in their 20s or 30s, these researchers share a rarefied skill set—deep expertise in calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory—paired with the ability to tackle highly complex, computation-heavy problems. Zuckerberg has been personally involved in the chase, diving into technical research papers and coordinating candidate outreach with two senior Meta executives via a group chat dubbed 'Recruiting Party.' Prospects are contacted through email, text, or WhatsApp, with priority given to those who have made significant contributions to AI breakthroughs. One recent Meta hire, passionate about algorithm design, perfectly fits this profile. The AI research world is close-knit, with scientists networking in private Slack and Discord groups to exchange offers and sometimes leverage competing bids to increase their value. Sources confirm Meta has approached dozens of OpenAI researchers, heating up Silicon Valley's AI talent war. At the helm of Zuckerberg's superintelligence initiative is 28-year-old Alexandr Wang—founder of Scale AI and son of Chinese immigrant physicists—whose $14 billion deal with Meta marks one of the costliest hires in history. In response to Meta's recruitment drive, OpenAI has revamped its pay structure, with its CTO even issuing an open letter urging staff to resist Zuckerberg's offers. At one point, the company reportedly paused operations for almost a week. Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati also revealed that Zuckerberg offered engineers in her team multi-million-dollar packages—yet, remarkably, not a single one has accepted.
Mint
41 minutes ago
- Mint
Regional content players struggle with low advertising rates, unfavourable algorithms
Regional content is booming across audio, and video streaming platforms. But for many small players, the growth wave hasn't translated into fair value or visibility. Despite the surge in hyperlocal, regional-language content across audio and video platforms, smaller creators producing such films, shows, and music say they remain constrained by industry norms that favour mainstream languages like Hindi and English. A key hurdle: ad rates. CPMs (Cost Per Mille, the cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 impressions) for regional content are usually lower, and smaller creators have little negotiating power. Platforms often offer standard rates, leaving them as 'price takers, not price makers." Adding to the challenge, algorithm-driven platforms such as YouTube and Meta determine revenue largely on performance metrics — watch time, clicks, and ad returns — rather than on direct deals or custom rates. These algorithms optimise for engagement, but don't always account for the nuances or loyalty of niche audiences. 'CPMs for regional content, especially from smaller language markets like Odia, are significantly lower than those for English or Hindi content," said Kaushik Das, founder and CEO of Odia-language platform AAO NXT. 'The platforms operate on demand-supply economics, and because advertisers aren't always educated on the depth or loyalty of regional audiences, the value ascribed to our content remains limited." The promise of the internet is that it's democratic, but in practice, it often reinforces existing hierarchies, he added. Smaller players compete with global budgets, paid promotions, algorithmic bias, and big influencers. Without alliances or paid boosts, getting discovered is an uphill battle. 'Negotiations are minimal unless you're a large network or aggregator. Most of us are price takers, not price makers. We try to build value over time by providing engagement metrics, but the uphill climb is real, especially when you're speaking in a language that isn't algorithmically prioritised," Das added. Penalised for being niche Several regional players say the challenge is that they are often penalised for being niche. Algorithms tend to reward volume and velocity over depth of connection, skewing visibility toward larger creators and trending genres. 'Technically, everyone can upload and distribute content. But in practice, discovery is a major challenge," said Vicky Rajani, director of Sai Digital Broadcast Media Pvt. Ltd and owner of Sindhi OTT SINDHIPLEX. 'Algorithms are skewed toward engagement-heavy or viral content, which inherently favours larger creators, trending genres, or language groups. Algorithms prioritise watch time, click-through rate, and ad performance — metrics that aren't always in favour of culturally rich but non-mainstream content." Rajani added that 'algorithm fatigue" can set in quickly: if initial videos underperform, future uploads receive fewer impressions, creating a vicious cycle. Income and advertiser bias Rajat Agrawal, COO and director of Ultra Media & Entertainment Group, which operates Marathi OTT Ultra Jhakaas, agreed that demand for Indian regional languages is limited compared with global ones like English. Advertisers are also more willing to pay for audiences with higher disposable incomes — a challenge for some Indian regional demographics. Further, creators in finance, technology, and beauty niches tend to earn more globally, while entertainment or general lifestyle content may have lower CPMs. Entertainment industry experts point out that the sheer volume of content on platforms can make it difficult for creators to stand out and reach their target audience. Also, audiences are scattered across multiple platforms, making it challenging to reach them effectively. Platforms may also impose limitations on content formats, lengths, or types, restricting creators' ability to reach their audience. At times, algorithms can be opaque, making it difficult for creators to understand why their content is being demoted or not shown to their audience. The nature of algorithms is such that they are constantly evolving, and changes can negatively impact content visibility and reach. Additionally, algorithms can have biases or flaws that unfairly penalise certain types of content or creators. 'The biggest hurdle is breaking through the noise. Algorithms on platforms like YouTube and Meta reward content that is already performing well. This creates a loop where popular content keeps getting more visibility, while new or small creators struggle to get noticed. Once you do get that reach and the content connects with people, the growth can be rapid. But it all starts with reach, and getting that first push is the toughest part," said Ujjwal Mahajan, co-founder, Chaupal, a platform specialising in Punjabi, Haryanvi, and Bhojpuri content.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
OpenAI to give employees ‘special' million-dollar bonuses amid AI talent wars
OpenAI has announced a 'special one-time award' to its AI researchers and engineers across several departments, including applied engineering, scaling, and safety. The bonuses were announced a day before the Microsoft-backed AI startup unveiled GPT-5, its latest and most advanced large language model (LLM). Over 1,000 OpenAI employees are eligible for the bonus, according to a report by The Verge. While the exact bonus amounts are not known, it will likely depend on the role and seniority of qualified employees with the highest million-dollar payouts reportedly going to OpenAI's prized AI researchers, who already draw salaries worth millions of dollars every year. The engineers, on the other hand, will reportedly receive bonuses amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars on average, the report said. However, these bonuses are not likely to be paid out at once. Instead, it will be disbursed over the next two years with qualified workers having the option to receive the money in OpenAI stock, cash, or both. 'As we mentioned a few weeks ago, we have been looking at comp for our technical teams given the movement in the market,' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was quoted as saying by The Verge. 'We very much intend to keep increasing comp as we keep doing better and better as a company. But we wanted to be transparent about this one since it's a new thing for us,' he added. This is reportedly the first time that OpenAI has offered bonuses to such a large number of employees (about one-third of the company's full workforce). The move comes against the backdrop of a rapidly intensifying war for AI talent. Several companies have poached OpenAI researchers with lucrative offers, and Meta has led the charge. Since the one-time special bonus does not apply to all employees, OpenAI risks losing more workers, who may feel overlooked, to other companies. Mark Chen, OpenAI's research officer, has previously likened Meta's aggressive poaching spree to a home invasion. Shengjia Zhao, one of the creators of ChatGPT, was recently named as the chief scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL). Besides Meta, Elon Musk's xAI has also reportedly been making aggressive offers to lure away OpenAI's top talent. Thinking Machines, an AI rival lab started by ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, also comprises several of OpenAI's technical staff. Meanwhile, OpenAI also reportedly plans to allow current and former employees to cash out with millions by selling their vested stock to investors. The ChatGPT-maker is currently valued at $300 billion. However, Altman has reportedly said that employees might be able to sell at a much higher share price than the current $274 per share at a higher valuation of $500 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg.
