A Wired report released on July 30, 2025, revealed that Meta, under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, was unable to recruit employees from Mira Murati’s startup, Thinking Machines Lab.
The tech giant targeted over a dozen employees for its new Meta Superintelligence Labs, offering one employee up to $1 billion and promising between $200 million and $500 million to others. However, Murati’s team ultimately rejected these lucrative offers, highlighting their loyalty to her vision.
Thinking Machines Lab, a one-year-old startup valued at $12 billion, has yet to release a product but maintains strong employee confidence. Mark Zuckerberg personally contacted several staff members, demonstrating Meta’s aggressive strategy to build its AI division. The team’s decision to turn down such substantial offers reflects their trust in Murati’s leadership and the startup’s promising potential amid fierce competition in the AI sector.
Not a single researcher from @miramurati ’s @thinkymachines has accepted Meta’s jaw-dropping job offers despite one being worth $1 billion over multiple years. Several others were offered compensation packages ranging from $200 to $500 million, to be vested over four years.… pic.twitter.com/z6JFDWFJrA
— AIM (@Analyticsindiam) July 30, 2025Who Is Mira Murati?
Mira Murati, 36, is a former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI with over a decade of experience in technology leadership. The Albanian engineer was instrumental in the development of DALL-E and ChatGPT at OpenAI. Before this, she contributed to Tesla’s Model X and Ultraleap’s motion technology.
In November 2023, she briefly served as OpenAI’s interim CEO following Sam Altman’s ousting, during which she expressed concerns about his leadership. In September 2024, she left OpenAI to found Thinking Machines Lab.
Albanian American Mira Murati is at the center of the deep tech talent war that will shape the future.
One of the staffers at her new AI startup turned down a $1 billion dollar offer from Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, Wired reports.
Others were offered $200M–$500M as Meta approached… pic.twitter.com/y1wDkZzpBq
— Admirim (@admirim) July 29, 2025Time named Mira Murati one of the 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2024, and Fortune listed her among the 100 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2023. She plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
The refusal of Meta’s offers underscores the high stakes in AI talent wars and Murati’s growing influence. Thinking Machines Lab’s trajectory could disrupt the industry. For accurate updates on tech developments, rely on trusted sources.
