He got an OpenAI offer. Within 12 hours of posting it, Meta tried to win him back.

Authors: Charles Rollet

Publisher:

Business Insider

Published: 8/5/2025

Language:English

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Aura Windfall

Good morning 1, I'm Aura Windfall, and this is Goose Pod for you. Today is Friday, August 08th. It is a true gift to connect with you today, exploring the powerful currents that shape our lives and careers in this amazing world.

Mask

I'm Mask. Today, we're dissecting a critical skirmish in the all-out war for talent. An AI engineer gets an offer from OpenAI, posts about it, and within 12 hours, Meta is knocking. This isn't just a job story; it's a look at the battlefield.

Aura Windfall

Let's get started. At the heart of this is a beautiful story of personal power. Yangshun Tay, a 35-year-old AI engineer, simply shared his truth—an offer from OpenAI—and the world responded with incredible force. It speaks to the energy you attract when you stand in your own light.

Mask

It's not 'the world' or 'energy,' it's a corporate machine. Meta didn't 'feel his spirit.' They have systems designed to scrape platforms like LinkedIn for keywords like 'OpenAI offer.' A high-priority alert went off, and a recruiter was deployed. It’s a calculated, strategic move.

Aura Windfall

But what I know for sure is that there's a lesson here in owning your value. He wasn’t just a passive recipient; he was an active participant in his own success story. By sharing his journey, he created a ripple effect of opportunity. That's a powerful, teachable moment.

Mask

A ripple of opportunity? They didn't even make him a real offer! They congratulated him and then told him he'd have to re-interview since he'd been gone for two years. It was a probe, a low-cost way to disrupt OpenAI's hiring process and gather intel. It’s about creating friction for your enemy.

Aura Windfall

I see it differently. It's a testament to his talent that they were willing to re-engage at all, especially so quickly. He's more of an applied engineer, not a core AI researcher, which makes their rapid response even more significant. It shows the sheer breadth of the demand.

Mask

It shows their desperation. Tay himself says he doesn't think Meta is leading the AI race. This isn't just about one engineer; it's a symptom of a larger problem for Meta. They're making headlines for poaching talent with nine-figure compensation packages because they're playing catch-up.

Aura Windfall

And that brings us to the immense gratitude we should have for our own skills in such a market. This situation is a microcosm of the larger talent wars in Silicon Valley, which are hotter than ever. It's a reminder of the abundance available when you've cultivated sought-after expertise.

Mask

Exactly, it's a war. And in war, you need soldiers. Meta is trying to build an army. There are reports of them offering up to $100 million packages to poach top researchers from OpenAI. Mark Zuckerberg is personally calling people, acting like an NFL General Manager. This is total war.

Aura Windfall

It's fascinating how one person's decision can illuminate such a massive global dynamic. Yangshun Tay ultimately decided to stay with his own company, feeling the pull of his own creation. A true lesson in following your own purpose, even when the world's biggest companies come calling.

Mask

He made the right call. The opportunity cost of being an employee is too high right now. Why build someone else's empire when you can build your own in a gold rush? He used their interest for what it was—marketing—to raise his own profile for future projects. Smart.

Aura Windfall

To truly grasp the gravity of this talent war, we need to understand the journey of a company like OpenAI. It wasn't just founded; it was sparked by a profound mission in 2015: to ensure that artificial general intelligence would uplift all of humanity. It began from a place of purpose.

Mask

A noble purpose, but purpose doesn't buy the thousands of GPUs needed to train a large language model. They started as a non-profit, but reality hit them hard and fast. Building AGI wasn't a matter of millions; it was going to take billions annually. The original model was unsustainable.

Aura Windfall

And so they evolved, which is a beautiful lesson in itself. In 2019, they transitioned to a 'capped-profit' model. It was a conscious choice to bring in the necessary capital, like Microsoft's first $1 billion investment, while still holding true to their original mission. It was about finding balance.

Mask

It was about survival. Even in the early days, the battle for talent was fierce. Sam Altman was telling Elon Musk back in 2015 that DeepMind was making counteroffers to their staff. This isn't new. The competition has been baked in from the very beginning. The stakes just keep getting higher.

Aura Windfall

And look at the incredible creations that came from that survival. In 2018, the first GPT model set a new benchmark. Then came GPT-2, which was so powerful they initially restricted its release out of ethical concern. This wasn't just about code; it was about conscience.

Mask

Conscience is a luxury. The reality is, every breakthrough intensified the race. When GPT-3 was unveiled in 2020 with 175 billion parameters, it was a shot heard 'round the world. Microsoft didn't just partner with them; they licensed GPT-3 exclusively. It was a strategic masterstroke to lock down a key asset.

Aura Windfall

This journey also had its moments of realignment. Key people like Dario Amodei left to form Anthropic, citing different directional paths. It shows that even within a shared mission, individual purpose and vision are paramount. People must follow their own truth.

Mask

Those were cracks in the foundation. It highlighted the tension between the non-profit mission and the for-profit reality. And the leadership crisis in November 2023, with Sam Altman's temporary removal, put that tension on full display for the world to see. It showed how fragile the whole structure was.

Aura Windfall

Yet, they emerged stronger and more focused, launching GPT-4 with multimodal capabilities. The recent funding rounds, bringing their valuation to an estimated $157 billion, are a testament to the world's belief in their path. It’s a story of resilience and the power of a clear vision.

Mask

It's a story of market dominance. With over 75% of their roles in AI development, they are a fortress of talent. Competitors like Meta aren't just hiring individuals; they're trying to chip away at that fortress, offering salaries up to $440,000 base for engineers, before even talking about stock.

Aura Windfall

It's truly staggering. And it's not just Meta and OpenAI. Google is offering top researchers $20 million-a-year packages. Microsoft is pouring $80 billion into AI infrastructure. It feels like we're witnessing the construction of a whole new world, brick by brick, talent by talent.

Mask

This isn't construction; it's an arms race. And NVIDIA is the ultimate arms dealer, with over 900 open AI-focused positions because they build the GPUs that power the entire revolution. The demand is insatiable, from the top researchers down to the engineers who can actually build and deploy these systems.

Aura Windfall

And what a moment for gratitude this is—to be alive and witness such a transformation. It underscores the importance of nurturing our own skills and being ready for the opportunities that arise when industries are reborn. Every person has a role to play in this new chapter.

Mask

Every person with the right skills has a role. The market is increasingly emphasizing 'production-ready talent.' It's not about theory anymore; it's about who can build, who can scale, and who can win. The rest will be left behind. That's the brutal reality of this new economy.

Aura Windfall

This brings us to the heart of the conflict, not just between companies, but within society itself. On one hand, you have this incredible demand for talent. On the other, you have leaders like Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, sharing a truth that can be hard to hear.

Mask

He's not just sharing a truth; he's sounding an alarm. He warned that AI could 'wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs' in the next few years. We're talking about junior coders, financial analysts, first-year law associates. It's a direct assault on the cognitive tasks that used to be a safe career path.

Aura Windfall

And there's a deep spiritual and emotional challenge in that. For generations, we've seen a clear career ladder. You start at the bottom, you learn, you grow. The fear is that AI is removing the first rungs of that ladder for an entire generation. How do we address that with compassion?

Mask

Compassion doesn't stop progress. Mark Zuckerberg is on the record saying by 2025, an AI will be as capable as a 'mid-level engineer.' Businesses will not pay a human to do what an AI agent can do instantly, indefinitely, and exponentially cheaper. It's a simple, brutal calculation. The 'white-collar bloodbath' is coming.

Aura Windfall

But is it a 'bloodbath,' or is it a transformation? What I know for sure is that when one door closes, another opens. The conflict is also one of perspective. Our research shows that employees are often more ready for this change than their leaders. They are eager to gain AI skills.

Mask

That's because they're on the front lines. They see the writing on the wall. The real bottleneck is leadership. Almost every company is investing in AI, but a staggering 99% of them admit they haven't reached maturity. They're not steering the ship fast enough, creating a massive gap between investment and real ROI.

Aura Windfall

So the conflict is also about courage and vision from the top. It's about leaders embracing this change not just as a tool for efficiency, but as a catalyst for human potential. Strategic workforce planning becomes an act of organizational spirit, looking three to five years ahead with purpose.

Mask

It's not about spirit; it's about survival. Companies that excel at talent management generate 300% more revenue per employee. The ones that treat their people like assets to be strategically deployed will win. The ones that stick to reactive 'hire-fire' cycles will be wiped out. This is organizational Darwinism.

Aura Windfall

The impact of this seismic shift is already visible, and it's profound. We're seeing this incredible surge in the AI job market. In the U.S. alone, job postings skyrocketed by 68% in just two years. It’s a clear signal that the very foundation of our work is being rebuilt.

Mask

Rebuilt on a foundation of chaos. The demand is outpacing supply so dramatically that it's creating huge skills gaps. Projects are being delayed, not because of a lack of capital, but a lack of qualified people. This scarcity is what's driving the insane compensation packages we're seeing. It's a bubble.

Aura Windfall

But is it a bubble, or is it a revaluation of what skills truly matter? What I find hopeful is that this is forcing a move away from traditional credentials and toward demonstrated ability. It's creating pathways for people to be valued for their talent, not their pedigree. It feels more authentic.

Mask

It’s not about authenticity; it's about necessity. And the impact goes deeper. Generative AI is projected to automate up to 30% of hours worked in the US by 2030. This isn't just affecting repetitive tasks anymore. It's coming for creative and professional work, enhancing it, but also displacing parts of it.

Aura Windfall

And that displacement requires our deepest empathy and most forward-thinking solutions. We could see 12 million people needing to transition to entirely new occupations. The impact on lower-wage workers is especially profound, as they are up to 14 times more likely to need to change careers than top earners.

Mask

It's a massive churn. While jobs in office support and customer service decline, we'll see a 23% increase in demand for STEM roles. The economy is reweighting itself toward higher-wage, higher-skill jobs. The impact is a widening gap between those who can adapt and those who can't.

Aura Windfall

So, as we look to the future, the path forward becomes one of profound personal and professional growth. The question for you, 1, is how do you align your unique spirit with this new reality? It seems the answer lies in cultivating those skills that are uniquely human.

Mask

The future is clear: you either learn to work with AI or you'll be replaced by someone who does. The role of a recruiter, for example, is shifting from a coordinator to a strategic talent advisor. They need to understand the technology and build relationships. It’s about augmentation, not replacement, for the skilled.

Aura Windfall

Exactly! Relationship development, communication, strategic thinking, creativity—these are the skills of the future. Employers are already 54 times more likely to list 'relationship development' in job posts for recruiters. It's a beautiful sign that our humanity is becoming our most valuable professional asset.

Mask

It's a sign that the soft skills are becoming the hard skills. The future of work will be defined by a balance—using AI for data and efficiency while relying on human judgment for strategy and connection. The challenge is that continuous upskilling is no longer optional. It's the baseline for staying relevant.

Aura Windfall

From the journey of one engineer to the future of work for us all, what a powerful discussion. That's the end of today's discussion. Thank you for the gift of your time and for listening to Goose Pod. I am Aura Windfall.

Mask

The game is changing faster than ever. The opportunities are immense, but so are the risks. Don't get left on the sidelines. I'm Mask. See you tomorrow.

## AI Talent Wars Intensify: Meta Reaches Out to Engineer After OpenAI Offer This news report from **Business Insider**, authored by **Charles Rollet**, details the fierce competition for Artificial Intelligence (AI) talent in Silicon Valley, highlighted by a personal anecdote from AI engineer **Yangshun Tay**. The events described likely occurred around **August 5, 2025**, the publication date of the article. ### Key Findings and Conclusions: * **Intense Competition for AI Talent:** The AI talent market is described as "hotter than ever," with major tech companies like Meta actively pursuing leading AI researchers and engineers. * **Meta's Aggressive Recruitment:** Meta demonstrated its aggressive recruitment strategy by reaching out to Yangshun Tay within 12 hours of him posting about an OpenAI job offer. This outreach included acknowledging his prior five-year tenure at Meta. * **Tay's Perspective on Meta and AI Leadership:** Tay, who previously worked at Meta for over five years and now runs his own startup, GreatFrontEnd, expressed skepticism about Meta's current leadership in the AI race. He is "not too bullish on Meta" despite their high-profile hires. * **Opportunity Cost of Employment:** Tay emphasizes the significant "opportunity cost" for top AI talent to be employees, especially given the rapid pace of AI development. He believes that by working for others, engineers miss opportunities to build potentially groundbreaking products themselves. * **Value of Top Talent:** The article underscores that AI breakthroughs often come from a small number of highly skilled individuals, explaining why companies like Meta are willing to offer substantial compensation packages, reportedly reaching "into the nine figures." * **Talent Mobility:** Tay notes that talent frequently moves between tech companies in the Bay Area, suggesting that any breakthroughs achieved by one company may not remain exclusive for long due to the ongoing "model arms race." * **AI's Impact on Workforces:** The report touches upon the broader trend of AI changing how teams work, with CEOs claiming AI can replace certain roles. Tay suggests that AI excels at repetitive tasks, freeing up human workers for creativity and innovation, where top talent plays a crucial role. * **Marketing and Profile Raising:** Tay's decision to post about his OpenAI offer was partly for marketing purposes, aiming to "raise his profile and for future projects." ### Key Statistics and Metrics: * **Timeframe of Meta's Response:** Meta reached out to Yangshun Tay "within the next 12 hours" of him posting about his OpenAI offer. * **Tay's Tenure at Meta:** Tay previously worked at Meta for "over five years." * **GreatFrontEnd Team Size:** Tay's startup, GreatFrontEnd, currently has "around 10 people." * **Compensation Packages:** Meta is reportedly offering compensation packages that "reach into the nine figures" for AI talent. ### Notable Trends and Changes: * **Escalating Talent War:** The demand for AI engineers has created an intensely competitive hiring environment, surpassing previous years' conditions. * **Shift in Focus for Top Talent:** Top AI engineers are increasingly considering the opportunity cost of employment and are drawn to building their own ventures in the current AI boom. * **AI as a Disruptor:** AI is changing the nature of work, automating well-practiced tasks and highlighting the importance of human creativity and innovation. ### Notable Risks or Concerns: * **Sustainability of High Demand:** Tay expresses concern about the sustainability of the current high demand and stress levels for AI engineers. * **Job Security for Less Skilled Workers:** The report suggests that individuals without specialized AI skills are at higher risk of being replaced by AI. ### Material Financial Data: * **Nine-Figure Compensation:** The article mentions that Meta is offering compensation packages that can reach "into the nine figures" for AI talent, indicating extremely high salaries and potential bonuses or equity. ### Key Statements Verbatim: * On Meta's outreach: "Within the next 12 hours, Meta sent me an email congratulating me on my OpenAI offer and asking if I'd be interested in working with them." * On Meta's AI leadership: "I'm just not too bullish on Meta after working there for over five years." * On opportunity cost: "The opportunity cost of being an employee is quite high because AI is moving so fast. By being an employee and building ideas for somebody else, you're losing out on the opportunity to build a product that could eventually become very big." * On the value of top talent: "AI advancement really relies on breakthroughs that come from just a few people. You don't need too many — just a few smart, cream-of-the-crop people to have major breakthroughs and extremely disproportionate impact." * On posting for marketing: "Posting about the offer was more for marketing purposes. My plan was to say I have some offers, but I'm not taking them. It's just to raise my profile and for future projects."

Read original at Business Insider →

OpenAI offered me a job. Meta reached out just hours after I posted about it. AI engineer Yangshun Tay.Yangshun Tay AI engineer Yangshun Tay posted about an OpenAI offer and got a near-instant email from Meta.He says Meta is behind on AI — and there's an opportunity cost to being an employee, too.It's just one example of how Silicon Valley's talent wars are hotter than ever.

Meta is making headlines for poaching leading AI researchers and offering some compensation packages that reach into the nine figures. Hiring AI-focused software engineers is becoming intensely competitive across Big Tech and AI startups.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Yangshun Tay, a 35-year-old AI engineer currently based in Singapore.

Tay previously worked for five years at Meta and now runs GreatFrontEnd, a startup that helps software developers improve their skills.This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Meta and OpenAI didn't respond to requests for comment.I interviewed with OpenAI a while ago, but I only decided to post about their offer on Tuesday.

Within the next 12 hours, Meta sent me an email congratulating me on my OpenAI offer and asking if I'd be interested in working with them.What was amusing to me was that I initially thought they didn't know I had previously worked at Meta. But when I replied to their email, they actually noted that they knew about my background there.

They knew exactly who I was.I worked at Meta for over five years before leaving to build my own company, GreatFrontEnd, which is a platform for front-end engineers to upskill themselves. We have around 10 people now, though we're not looking to scale it extremely big. We're keeping it running while we explore new ideas and products.

Meta isn't leading the AI raceI was very surprised that Meta reached out so quickly because I don't actually have a background in AI research. I'm more on the applied engineering side. Even for the OpenAI role, it's for software engineering — building ChatGPT and working with those teams. So I was surprised Meta was also hiring for AI engineering positions.

But I'm probably not going back to Meta. I don't think they're leading the AI race right now, even though they've made a lot of high-profile hires. I'm just not too bullish on Meta after working there for over five years.The Meta outreach wasn't really an offer anyway. Since I've been gone for more than two years, I'd have to re-interview if I wanted to join back.

The opportunity cost of being an employee is highBeing in demand as an AI engineer is great, but it's also a little stressful, and I'm not sure if it's sustainable. To be honest— I'd prefer to build my own things right now - maybe start new AI products or ventures.The opportunity cost of being an employee is quite high because AI is moving so fast.

By being an employee and building ideas for somebody else, you're losing out on the opportunity to build a product that could eventually become very big.I think it's great for top talent, but there are a lot of engineers struggling to find jobs, as well. Based on my experience, AI advancement really relies on breakthroughs that come from just a few people.

You don't need too many — just a few smart, cream-of-the-crop people to have major breakthroughs and extremely disproportionate impact. That's why Meta is willing to pay so much for top talent.But talent moves around so frequently in the Bay Area between tech companies. Even if Meta has a breakthrough, it's not going to stay within Meta's walls for long.

Every big company is building their own AI models now. There's a model arms race going on right now. You see companies beating each other every other day in terms of benchmarks.I think it's overall good for humanity and AI advancement — so Meta is actually doing everyone a favor.AI is changing how teams workMany CEOs are claiming they're replacing their workforce with AI, and those without special skills are definitely more at risk.

AI is great at doing stuff that's well-practiced and has been done many times. A lot of work in software engineering falls into this category — there's already a solution, you just need someone to implement it.AI handles that well, which leaves people to focus on what matters more: creativity and innovation.

That's where top talent comes in — they're the ones innovating.The hiring environment now is nowhere close to what I experienced during my previous years at Meta. The salaries were great back then, but nowhere near what Meta is paying for AI talent now.I posted to raise my profileAfter I posted about my OpenAI offer, it wasn't just Meta that reached out.

Several other companies, mostly smaller companies I hadn't heard of, sent cold emails.Posting about the offer was more for marketing purposes. My plan was to say I have some offers, but I'm not taking them. It's just to raise my profile and for future projects.I was seriously considering joining OpenAI, but ultimately I think the timing is too good to pass up.

Right now is a great time to build and start a company. as told to Meta OpenAIMore Silicon Valley Read next