Latest news with #AlexanderKolesnikov
Forbes
02-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Beyond Money: How Culture And Vision Win Top Talent
Money is not the only driver for talent in AI Meta's aggressive recruitment tactics have changed the public discourse about the challenge of recruiting AI talent. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed on the Uncapped podcast that Meta dangled 'giant offer" such as "$100 million signing bonuses' to lure AI talent . Even if many of these offers involved long-term equity rather than immediate cash, the message was unmistakable: in the AI arms race, big money talks. There's no denying the allure of sky-high salaries and bonuses. However, the facts on the ground consistently show that truly great talent can't be bought alone—lasting attraction and retention rely on something deeper. Meta's attempts to recruit researchers like Lucas Beyer and Alexander Kolesnikov (two of the three employees that did accept Meta's offers) demonstrate the stakes in today's AI talent war. But top professionals aren't purely coin-operated. As Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review have both noted, compensation is often a short-term motivator—one that fades quickly if employees find the culture or leadership lacking. The Real Drivers, Beyond Compensation, Behind Talent Decisions Top researchers want to contribute to something meaningful, not just lucrative. Here are a few of the motivations that incentive experts to switch teams. 1. Compelling Mission And Vision A clear, ambitious mission gives purpose to their work. For instance, OpenAI's stated mission to 'ensure AGI benefits all humanity' inspires many who could earn more elsewhere. Similarly, DeepMind's focus on 'solving intelligence to advance science and benefit humanity' has kept it a magnet for talent despite fierce competition. When a company's mission is tied to real-world impact, it can outweigh even extravagant offers from competitors. In the book 'Practical Wisdom,' author Barry Schwartz emphasizes that a strong sense of purpose is one of the most powerful motivators for skilled professionals. 2. Company Culture And Freedom Research freedom is critical in AI, where innovation depends on exploration. A culture that promotes psychological safety—defined by author Amy Edmondson in her book "The Fearless Organization"—empowers researchers to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and take creative risks without fear of punishment or humiliation. Organizations like Google Brain have thrived by giving teams autonomy to pursue blue-sky ideas, leading to breakthroughs such as Transformer models that revolutionized NLP. Without that freedom, even the best-paid engineers will eventually disengage or leave. 3. Recognition Ambitious professionals want to work where their contributions will matter—and be noticed. When a company is recognized as a leader in its domain, it signals opportunities to publish research, speak at top conferences, and collaborate with other experts. This kind of visibility helps researchers build reputations that are invaluable for their careers. For example, DeepMind's publications in scientific journals like Nature and Science helped cement its status as a leading AI lab, attracting talent who want to make contributions recognized at the highest levels. 4. Ethical Leadership Great leaders don't just set goals—they embody values. Employees want to know their leaders will make decisions they can be proud of, especially in fields like AI where ethics are under intense scrutiny. Organizations with leaders who consistently demonstrate integrity and transparency create trust, loyalty, and pride. As Hitotsubashi University Professor Ikujiro Nonaka wrote in Harvard Business Review's webinar 'The Wise Leader,' wise leaders integrate intuition, values, and vision to guide organizations through ambiguity. Leaders who clearly communicate their principles and stick to them—even when it's inconvenient—are magnets for talent seeking meaning, not just money. Levers More Powerful Than Cash Big salaries may open the door, but culture, purpose, ethical clarity, reputation, and leadership keep top talent engaged for the long haul. Leaders hoping to compete with mega-offers should invest in: In the AI arms race, companies that invest in these deeper levers won't just attract great people—they'll inspire them to stay, innovate, and build the future together.
Business Insider
28-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
M&A News: OpenAI Acqui-Hires Crossing Minds amid Meta Poaching Spree
Microsoft-backed OpenAI (MSFT) has hired the entire team from Crossing Minds, which is a startup that has raised $13.5 million in funding (according to TechCrunch) to build AI recommendation tools for online shopping platforms. Crossing Minds announced the news on its website by stating that it was excited to join OpenAI and support its mission to make artificial general intelligence helpful for everyone. The team said it's eager to learn, contribute, and help shape the future of AI together with OpenAI. Confident Investing Starts Here: It is worth noting that this move is considered an 'acqui-hire.' This means that OpenAI mainly acquired the startup in order to bring in its talented team. The timing is notable, as OpenAI has recently seen some of its researchers leave for rival companies, especially Meta Platforms (META), which is aggressively pushing to become the leader in the AI market. Indeed, Meta has hired several researchers from OpenAI to work on its 'superintelligence' projects. According to The Wall Street Journal, Meta brought in Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai, who helped start OpenAI's Zurich office last year. In a separate report, TechCrunch also revealed that Meta hired OpenAI researcher Trapit Bansal to focus on building better reasoning models. These moves highlight the increasing competition among tech giants to secure top AI talent. Is MSFT Stock a Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 30 Buys and five Holds assigned in the last three months. Furthermore, the average MSFT price target of $521.41 per share implies 5.3% upside potential.
Business Insider
27-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
M&A News: Meta Platforms (META) Is Reportedly in Talks to Acquire PlayAI
Tech giant Meta Platforms (META) is reportedly in talks to acquire PlayAI, a California startup known for creating AI-generated voices that sound human, according to a Bloomberg report. The potential deal would give Meta access to PlayAI's technology and possibly some of its employees. However, sources noted that the agreement hasn't been finalized yet, and the terms could still change. Furthermore, the financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. Confident Investing Starts Here: This move follows Meta's recent $15 billion investment for a 49% stake in Scale AI, which shows that the company is serious about becoming a major player in the competitive AI space. Indeed, Meta has been actively pursuing AI-related deals this year while also hiring top talent from rivals like Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft-backed OpenAI (MSFT). For example, it just recently poached Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai from OpenAI's Zurich office. The company has also previously attempted to acquire other AI firms, including Perplexity AI, Runway AI, and FuriosaAI. Interestingly, Meta's aggressive push into AI is similar to its earlier strategy during the rise of social media, when it quickly acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to stay ahead of its competitors. With this new focus on AI, Meta is trying to secure a leading position in the next wave of tech innovation by using acquisitions and top-tier talent to build what it is calling its 'superintelligence group,' which focuses on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI). For context, AGI refers to AI systems that can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks at a human-like level of intelligence. Is Meta a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 42 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average META price target of $717.26 per share implies that shares are near fair value.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta hires three OpenAI researchers, WSJ reports
(Reuters) -Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has hired three OpenAI researchers to join his superintelligence efforts, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company hired Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov and Xiaohua Zhai, who were all working in OpenAI's Zurich office, the report said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta hires three OpenAI researchers, WSJ reports
(Reuters) -Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has hired three OpenAI researchers to join his superintelligence efforts, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company hired Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov and Xiaohua Zhai, who were all working in OpenAI's Zurich office, the report said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
