Anthropic CEO Resists Big Tech Bidding War, Rejects Massive Salary Changes for Employees

Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, says the company won't compromise its compensation principles to compete with Big Tech for top AI talent. Massive salary changes could "destroy" the company culture by treating people unfairly, he said. Employees rejected outside offers, with some refusing to talk to Mark Zuckerberg. Amodei believes his company's principles are more important than competing with Big Tech.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is spearheading a bold initiative to develop artificial superintelligence (ASI) at Meta, aiming to be the first company to achieve this groundbreaking technology. This ambitious project involves recruiting an elite team of researchers and engineers, with Zuckerberg reportedly offering multimillion-dollar signing bonuses to lure top talent from competitors like OpenAI and Google. The stakes are high, as Meta seeks to lead the next transformational technology wave and regain its competitive edge after the metaverse pivot failed to materialize [1].

Zuckerberg's AI maximalist vision is driving the company's investment in AI infrastructure and talent acquisition. Recent hires include Shengjia Zhao, a co-creator of ChatGPT, who joined Meta as chief scientist of the Superintelligence Labs, and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, who is now leading the team. These high-profile appointments are part of Meta's strategy to build a talent-dense team that can compete with other tech giants in the AI race [1].

However, not all AI companies are willing to engage in the same talent war. Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, has publicly stated that his company will not compromise its compensation principles to compete with Big Tech for top AI talent. Amodei believes that massive salary changes could "destroy" the company culture by treating people unfairly. Employees at Anthropic have reportedly rejected outside offers and refused to talk to Zuckerberg, emphasizing their commitment to Anthropic's principles over competitive compensation [2].

The AI talent war has significant financial implications. Meta has invested billions in AI infrastructure and talent acquisition, with some analysts questioning how these investments align with the company's broader business roadmap. Despite the uncertainty, investors seem to be supportive, with Meta's shares rising around 20% since the start of the year [1].

As Meta continues to invest in its AI ambitions, the company faces challenges in delivering on its infrastructure investments without a cloud computing business to generate immediate revenue. The success of Zuckerberg's AI superintelligence vision could propel Meta far beyond its current role as a social media company, potentially transforming its legacy and impact on the tech industry [1].

References:
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/tech/meta-ai-superintelligence-team-who-its-hiring
[2] https://www.anthropic.com/principles