OpenAI Hits Pause: Weeklong Shutdown Amid Fierce Talent Tug-of-War with Meta

According to various media reports, OpenAI is planning a rare company-wide downtime for next week to allow workers to rest following months of demanding 80-hour workweeks.

The interim closure occurs as the ChatGPT creator struggles to hold onto top staff in the face of significant recruitment offers from Meta, totalling $100 million.

As the AI powerhouse strives to create artificial general intelligence, the ChatGPT maker has maintained what sources describe as rigorous operational schedules, with personnel putting in 80 hours a week.

This closure is an unusual step for the company. As per a renowned media house, only executives would continue to work during the break.

Mark Chen Warns Employees Against Offers From Meta

In an internal Slack post, Chief Research Officer Mark Chen cautioned colleagues that Meta will probably take advantage of the outage period to prod OpenAI researchers into making judgements quickly.

In a memo, he stated that Meta is aware that OpenAI is taking this week off and would attempt to use it to compel OpenAI staff to make snap choices. Given that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hired seven OpenAI researchers in recent weeks, including important contributors to the company's reasoning models, the timing is crucial.

Trapit Bansal, a key contributor to OpenAI's O1 model, Xiaohua Zhai, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Lucas Beyer have joined Meta's superintelligence lab. The leadership of OpenAI is "recalibrating comp" and looking into "creative ways to recognise and reward top talent," Chen said.

The company's reaction follows CEO Sam Altman's disclosure that Meta gave certain employees signing incentives worth over $100 million, but subsequent defectors have called these exact amounts "fake news".

Altman argues that none of OpenAI's top talent have chosen to accept them despite the financial strain, attributing retention to the company's better innovation skills and mission focus. The company's main goal will be to achieve artificial general intelligence, rather than launching new products frequently.

Intense War on AI Talent Acquisition

Indeed, this case exemplifies how the AI talent war has escalated significantly. In addition to hiring about seven to eight researchers, including well-known figures like Xiaohua Zhai, Trapit Bansal, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Lucas Beyer, Meta has established its own Superintelligence Labs with significant financial support and leadership appointments.

A potential strategic change for OpenAI is also indicated by the recent break, as the company abandons its rapid-fire product release methodology in favour of concentrating more on long-term AGI development.

In the face of escalating competition and internal restructuring, the internal memo referred to the decision to suspend operations as a "reset".

The competition for AI expertise is becoming a defining issue for the major players in the industry as Meta expands its own superintelligence lab and offers previously unthinkable compensation packages.