Anthropic AI staff reject Meta's $100M offers to stay loyal to company culture

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has stated that many of his employees are rejecting a reported $100 million offer from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to leave the AI company, despite Amodei choosing not to increase salaries to retain staff. The decision has sparked discussion on how to balance financial incentives with company culture in the highly competitive AI talent landscape [1].

Amodei shared these insights in a recent interview, where he revealed that despite repeated attempts from Meta to lure Anthropic’s top talent with substantial payouts, most employees have declined the offers. “I’ve talked to plenty of people who got these offers at Anthropic and just turned them down. Who wouldn’t even talk to Mark Zuckerberg,” he said. The CEO emphasized that the company’s principles of fairness and structured compensation prevented it from matching competitors’ offers, a stance he believes is critical to preserving Anthropic’s culture [1].

The CEO criticized Meta’s approach as “unfair,” arguing that randomly selecting individuals and offering them disproportionately high compensation does not reflect their value or skill level. He also questioned whether such tactics help Meta achieve its goals, noting that mission alignment and company culture are key to retaining top talent [1].

Anthropic’s approach appears to be paying off. The company has an 80% employee retention rate for those hired in the last two years, significantly higher than the 64% retention rate at Meta [1]. Amodei attributes this to the shared belief in the company’s mission, which he says is the strongest motivator for staying with the company. “We didn’t give in. We refused to compromise our principles,” he added.

Other tech leaders have echoed Amodei’s concerns about Meta’s aggressive recruitment tactics. Sam Altman of OpenAI noted that while some employees have accepted Meta’s offers, none of OpenAI’s top performers have done so. Altman also criticized the idea that simply copying a successful company like OpenAI is a viable strategy, arguing that culture and innovation cannot be replicated through financial incentives alone [1].

The situation underscores a broader trend in the AI sector: talent is increasingly prioritizing purpose over pay, particularly in companies that emphasize ethical development and long-term goals. As the race for AI expertise intensifies, firms like Anthropic are proving that loyalty can be cultivated through values, not just salaries.

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[1]title1.............................(https://fortune.com/2025/08/04/billionaire-anthropic-ceo-dario-amodei-ai-staffers-poaching-meta-mark-zuckerberg-100k-six-figure-salaries-openai-sam-altman/)