Meta reportedly offered more than $200 million to Ruoming Pang, Apple’s former head of AI model development, to join its newly formed Superintelligence Labs—a clear sign of Meta’s aggressive move to dominate the AI race
Who Is Ruoming Pang, and Why Meta Wants Him
Ruoming Pang is a key figure at Apple, leading the Foundation Models team responsible for AI features like Apple Intelligence, email summaries, and Genmoji. Meta sees him as vital to building human-level AI technologies and is willing to pay top dollar to recruit him
Compensation Package Details and Comparison
Meta’s offer includes a base salary, signing bonus, and massive equity grants, structured over multiple years. Most of the $200 million-plus package is contingent on performance and vesting. Apple reportedly chose not to match the offer, reflecting its conservative approach to executive compensation—only Tim Cook receives more
Part of an Industry-Wide Talent Grab
Pang’s recruitment fits into a larger trend: Meta has recently hired several top AI experts—including former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang, and OpenAI and Anthropic veterans—some reportedly with offers up to $100–300 million. This spree marks a major escalation in the AI hiring wars
Ripple Effects on Apple and the AI Ecosystem
Losing an AI leader like Pang is a setback for Apple, which has been working to scale its Siri and AI products. Meta gains momentum—but must capitalize on investment. Ongoing competition between Apple, Meta, OpenAI, Google, and others reflects a clear industry shift: AI talent shortages are reshaping priorities .
What This Means for You
- AI R&D intensifies: With scale hires, Metaverse Labs is aiming to lead artificial general intelligence (AGI).
- Sky-high offers become the norm: Expect compensation packages in hundreds of millions for elite AI talent.
- Talent drains reshape tech power: Companies may increasingly struggle to retain leaders.
Summary
Meta’s attempt to recruit Apple’s AI chief with a staggering $200 million-plus compensation package underscores the fierce competition over AI talent. As Meta builds its Superintelligence Labs and Apple restructures its AI division, the global AI landscape is being remade—one tech titan hiring war at a time.
