Who is Matt Deitke? Meta offers $250 million to a 24-year-old AI prodigy
ALSO READ| Meta offered up to $1 billion salary to poach talent from former OpenAI CTO: Report
Who is Matt Deitke?
Matt Deitke, who recently left his PhD program in computer science at the University of Washington, was initially offered about $125 million over four years to join Meta, according to The New York Times.
However, when he turned it down, Mark Zuckerberg personally met with Deitke and doubled the offer to around $250 million.
'When computer scientists are paid like professional athletes, we have reached the climax of the 'Revenge of the Nerds!'' MIT economist David Autor told the New York Post.
After leaving academia, Deitke worked at Seattle's Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, where he led the creation of Molmo, a chatbot designed to interpret not just text, but also images and audio.
Then in late 2023, Deitke co-founded Vercept, a startup focused on autonomous AI agents capable of navigating and executing tasks online. The company, though just 10 people strong, secured $16.5 million in funding from investors including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
The 24-year-old also gained recognition in the research community after receiving an Outstanding Paper Award at NeurIPS 2022.
Meta's race to corner AI excellence
Meta's push to recruit Deitke is part of a hiring spree, with the company reportedly spending more than $1 billion to build out its AI talent. It recently hired Ruoming Pang, who previously led Apple's AI models team, in a package said to be worth more than $200 million. Meta has also committed to spending $72 billion on capital expenditures in 2025.
ALSO READ| Meta wants candidates to use AI during job interviews. Yes, even during coding - Report
'We're building an elite, talent-dense team. If you're going to be spending hundreds of billions of dollars on compute and building out multiple gigawatt of clusters, then it really does make sense to compete super hard and do whatever it takes to get that, you know, 50 or 70 or whatever it is, top researchers to build your team. There's just an absolute premium for the best and most talented people,' Zuckerberg clarified the investors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Even OpenAI's chairman struggles to keep up with AI: Bret Taylor calls the once-in-a-lifetime boom ‘insane'
— plzaccelerate (@plzaccelerate) Living through a technological renaissance You Might Also Like: Billionaire Vinod Khosla predicts AI teachers will disrupt education and careers. Here's how A human job in an AI world Bill Gates agrees: AI is a tool, not the artist You Might Also Like: Bill Gates predicts only three jobs will survive the AI takeover. Here is why If you've been struggling to keep pace with the whirlwind that is Artificial Intelligence , you're in good company. Bret Taylor , Chairman of OpenAI , the organization at the epicenter of the AI revolution , admits he too is barely able to stay afloat amid the relentless stream of a candid conversation hosted by South Park Commons with Aditya Agarwal, Taylor said, 'I am the chairman of OpenAI. I run a fairly successful applied AI company, and I have trouble keeping up with everything going on.' His words offer a rare moment of vulnerability in a world that often presents AI experts as unflappable makes his admission particularly striking is his vantage point. Taylor is not just on the frontline — he's in the command tower. From overseeing OpenAI's advancements to observing the competition's rapid rise, his plate is full. And yet, even he finds it dizzying. 'I'm probably most well situated in the world almost to do so… So it just feels insane to me right now,' he sees this turbulent moment as historic — and oddly poetic. 'I think it's a privilege... I hope you're enjoying being in this moment because... I think our society will be very different 10 years from now,' he said, reflecting on how rare it is to consciously live through such a transformative era. 'I pinch myself every day.'Indeed, the AI domain is experiencing something akin to a gold rush — except instead of panning rivers, companies are mining data and releasing new models almost weekly. OpenAI, once the undisputed leader, is now facing heated competition. Google's Gemini, Elon Musk's Grok, and emerging Chinese open-source platforms like DeepSeek and Kimi have challenged its dominance with increasingly capable on the product side, innovation is relentless. ChatGPT has become the fifth most visited website globally, but it's far from alone. New AI tools tackling niche tasks are sprouting up daily. OpenAI reportedly even attempted to acquire Windsurf, a rising AI startup — a sign of how closely it watches the this pace, Taylor offers a reassuring message: humans aren't being pushed out of the equation just yet. Speaking to Business Insider, he argued that formal computer science education remains more relevant than ever. 'Studying computer science is a different answer than learning to code, but I would say I still think it's extremely valuable,' he emphasized that such degrees instill systems thinking — a way of understanding how components interact in complex systems, which remains vital for innovation. He pointed out how topics like Big O notation, cache misses, and randomized algorithms teach the kind of structured logic that no AI model can fully Taylor's view is none other than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. In conversations on The Tonight Show, Gates predicted that programming will "remain a human job for at least a century.' His reason? Writing software isn't about typing code; it's about pattern recognition, judgment, and making creative like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT may streamline debugging and accelerate development, but Gates insists, 'They are power chisels, not replacement carpenters.' AI may help you shape the material, but the blueprint still comes from the human mind.
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Anthropic CEO throws shade at Mark Zuckerberg's billion-dollar AI talent hunt with dartboard dig: ‘You can't buy purpose with a paycheck'
Reuters Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO, has criticised Meta's AI recruitment. He questions Meta's high compensation offers. Amodei says Anthropic prioritizes culture and fair pay. In the escalating turf war for top AI talent, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has delivered a pointed, and slightly humorous, critique of Meta's aggressive recruitment tactics. Speaking on the Big Technology Podcast , Amodei painted a vivid picture: "If Mark Zuckerberg throws a dart at a dartboard and it hits your name, that doesn't mean you should be paid ten times more than the guy next to you who's just as skilled." His remarks come amid widespread reports of Meta launching an all-out offensive to poach AI engineers from rivals like OpenAI, Apple, Google, and Anthropic itself. Yet Amodei claims his startup has remained largely untouched. 'Some [employees] wouldn't even talk to Meta,' he said, asserting that their culture and mission are more attractive than any compensation package Meta can offer. Meta has reportedly been dangling massive offers, with some packages surpassing $200 million for a single hire, according to Business Insider and WIRED . Amodei, however, says Anthropic refuses to match such sums, insisting on fair and consistent pay across the board. "I recently posted in our company Slack that we will not compromise our compensation principles or fairness if someone gets a big offer," he shared. In his view, rewarding one employee disproportionately just because they were on Meta's radar would be unjust to their equally capable colleagues. Despite this stance, Meta has managed to lure away at least one former Anthropic engineer—Joel Pobar—but Amodei suggests their broader impact has been limited. — BigTechPod (@BigTechPod) Meta's latest AI moonshot, the Superintelligence Lab , has ignited a fierce scramble for elite minds. OpenAI's Chief Research Officer Mark Chen likened it to a break-in after losing several staffers overnight. Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman accused Meta of deploying 'giant offers' to lure talent, with some signing bonuses rumored to top $100 million. Zuckerberg is unapologetic about the ambition. In an internal memo seen by CNBC , he claimed, 'Developing superintelligence is coming into sight,' declaring his goal to bring personal AI to every individual, not just enterprise clients. While Meta may have the resources, Amodei questions whether mission-driven AI work can be bought. 'Zuckerberg is trying to buy something that can't be bought,' he said during the podcast, underscoring Anthropic's long-term focus on safe and ethical AI development. This sentiment resonates with other industry leaders too. OpenAI continues to frame itself as a purpose-first organization, while Meta's flashier, big-money moves risk creating tension even within its own teams. As CNBC reported, some insiders at Meta worry that a talent-heavy, cash-fueled approach could lead to ego clashes and fractured projects. In the current AI landscape, where demand far outpaces supply, the value of a skilled AI researcher is rivaling that of a professional athlete. Yet, for companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, the real challenge isn't just retaining talent—it's maintaining a sense of purpose amid the frenzy.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
AI researchers are negotiating $250 million pay packages, just like NBA stars
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Over the summer, Matt Deitke got a phone call from Mark Zuckerberg Meta 's chief wanted Deitke, a 24-year-old artificial intelligence researcher who had recently helped found a startup, to join Meta's research effort dedicated to "superintelligence," a technology that could hypothetically exceed the human brain. The company promised him around $125 million in stock and cash over four years if he came offer was not enough to lure Deitke, who wanted to stick with his startup, two people with knowledge of the talks said. He turned Zuckerberg Zuckerberg personally met with Deitke. Then Meta returned with a revised offer of around $250 million over four years, with potentially up to $100 million of that to be paid in the first year, the people said. The compensation jump was so startling that Deitke asked his peers what to do. After many discussions, some of them urged him to take the deal -- which he Valley's AI talent wars have become so frenzied -- and so outlandish -- that they increasingly resemble the stratospheric market for NBA AI researchers are being recruited as if they are Steph Curry or LeBron James, with nine-figure compensation packages structured to be paid out over several years. To navigate the froth, many of the 20-somethings have turned to unofficial agents and entourages to strategize. And they are playing hardball with the companies to get top dollar, much as basketball players shop for the best deals from difference is that unlike NBA teams, deep-pocketed AI companies like Meta, OpenAI and Google have no salary caps. (Curry's most recent four-year contract with the Golden State Warriors was $35 million less than Deitke's deal with Meta.) That has made the battles for AI talent even the past few weeks, recruiting AI free agents has become a spectacle on social media, much like the period before a trade deadline in sports. As Meta, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI have poached employees from one another, job announcements have been posted online with graphics resembling major sports trades, made by the online streaming outlet TBPN , which hosts an ESPN-like show about the tech and business world."BREAKING: Microsoft has poached over 20 staff members from DeepMind over the last six months," read one recent TBPN post about Microsoft's hiring from Google's DeepMind Hays, a co-host of TBPN, said that as tech and AI have gone mainstream, more people are following the recruitment fray "the way our friends from college obsess over sports -- the personalities, the players, the leagues."On Wednesday, Zuckerberg said Meta planned to continue throwing money at AI talent "because we have conviction that superintelligence is going to improve every aspect of what we do." Superintelligent AI would not just improve the company's business, he said, but would also become a personal tool that "has the potential to begin an exciting new era of individual empowerment."A Meta spokesperson declined to comment. Deitke did not respond to a request for job market for AI researchers has long had parallels to professional sports. In 2012, after three academics at the University at Toronto published a research paper describing a seminal AI system that could recognize objects like flowers and cars, they auctioned themselves off to the highest corporate bidder -- Google -- for $44 kicked off a race for talent across the tech industry. By 2014, Peter Lee, Microsoft's head of research, was likening the market to that for up-and-coming pro football players, many of whom were making about $1 million a year."Last year, the cost of a top, world-class deep learning expert was about the same as a top NFL quarterback prospect," Lee told Bloomberg BusinessWeek at the time, referring to a type of AI specialist. "The cost of that talent is pretty remarkable."The leverage that AI researchers have in negotiating job terms has only increased since OpenAI released the ChatGPT chatbot in 2022, setting off a race to lead the technology. They have been aided by scarcity: Only a small pool of people have the technical know-how and experience to work on advanced artificial intelligence because AI is built differently from traditional software. These systems learn by analyzing enormous amounts of digital data. Few researchers have experience with the most advanced systems, which require giant pools of computing power available to only a handful of result has been a fresh talent war, with compensation soaring into the hundreds of millions of dollars a year, from millions of dollars a April, Zuckerberg -- whose company was struggling to advance its AI research -- dived in by sending personal messages to potential recruits, offering them larger and larger approach was similar to that of sports franchise owners, two Meta employees said. Even if the offers seemed absurd, if the new hires could help increase revenue by even half a percent -- especially for a company that is closing in on a $2 trillion market capitalization -- it would be worth it, the people said."If I'm Zuck and I'm spending $80 billion in one year on capital expenditures alone, is it worth kicking in another $5 billion or more to acquire a truly world-class team to bring the company to the next level?" Hays said. "The answer is obviously yes."Meta's initial offers to engineers varied but hovered in the mid-tens of millions of dollars, three people familiar with the process company also offered recruits something that was arguably more attractive than money: computing power. Some potential hires were told they would be allotted 30,000 graphical processing units, or GPUs, for their AI research, one of the people said. GPUs, which are powerful chips ideal for running the calculations that fuel AI, are highly has hired with the help of the List, a document with the names of the top minds in AI, two people familiar with the effort said. Many on the List have three main qualifications: a doctorate in an AI-related field, experience at a top lab and contributions to AI research breakthroughs, one of the people Wall Street Journal previously reported some details of the researchers on the List have created chat groups on Slack and Discord to discuss offers, two people in the groups said. When someone lands an offer, they can drop the details in the group chats and ask peers to weigh in. (AI is a tight-knit field where people often know one another.) They trade information about which companies to approach for another offer so they can build up their price, the people with friends can be just as important as the money. After a researcher joins a new lab, the first thing that person often does is try to recruit friends, two people familiar with the process talent wars have started causing pain. OpenAI has changed its compensation structure to account for the shift in the market, employees at the company said, and is asking those approached by competitors to consult executives before immediately accepting offers."Are we countering? Yes," Mark Chen, OpenAI's chief research officer, said at a company meeting this month, according to a recording reviewed by The New York Times. But he added that OpenAI had not matched Meta's offers because "I personally think that in order to work here, you have to believe in the upside of OpenAI."OpenAI declined to comment. (The Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement in relation to news content related to AI systems. The two companies have denied the claims.)Not all of Meta's overtures have succeeded. The company has been rebuffed by some researchers, two people said, partly because Zuckerberg's vision for artificial intelligence was unclear compared to those at other the frenzy has allowed even little-known researchers like Deitke to chart their own who recently dropped out of a computer science Ph.D. program at the University of Washington , had moonlighted at a Seattle AI lab called the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. There, he led the development of a project called Molmo, an AI chatbot that juggles images, sounds and text -- the kind of system that Meta is trying to November, Deitke and several Allen Institute colleagues founded Vercept, a startup that is trying to build AI agents, which can use other software on the internet to autonomously perform tasks. With about 10 employees, Vercept has raised $16.5 million from investors such as former Google chief executive Eric came Deitke's back-and-forth with Zuckerberg. After Deitke accepted Meta's roughly $250 million four-year offer, Vercept's CEO posted on social media, "We look forward to joining Matt on his private island next year."
