HomeMeta continues to poach AI startup Thinking Machines, losing another key member
Meta is intensifying its efforts to poach AI talent from startups, further fueling the fierce competition in Silicon Valley.
Joshua Gross, a senior software engineer at Thinking Machines, is the latest to leave. According to his LinkedIn, he joined Meta's Super Intelligence Lab last month and now leads the engineering team. Gross previously worked at OpenAI and Meta; at Thinking Machines, he built and launched Tinker, the company's flagship creative software for AI video, images, 3D models, and comic creation.
This isn't the first time Thinking Machines has lost key personnel. Meta has already recruited five founding members from the company, including co-founder Andrew Tulloch, while OpenAI has poached former CTO Barret Zoph and cybersecurity expert Jolene Parish.
Notably, the talent flow isn't one-way. Thinking Machines previously hired Soumith Chintala, the creator of PyTorch, as its CTO, and brought in top competitive programmer Neal Wu. The startup, which raised $2 billion last year at a $12 billion valuation, has grown more than fourfold to around 130 employees, positioning it as a key hub for AI talent.
Major tech companies are spending heavily to hold onto top talent. According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg once offered up to $100 million in compensation to lure core talent from OpenAI. Google reportedly offered a $2.4 billion deal to the CEO of AI coding tools company Windsurf, and Apple issued stock bonuses of $200,000 to $400,000 to hardware designers this March.
With a limited supply of AI talent and rapidly growing demand, this competition shows no signs of slowing down.
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Meta is intensifying its efforts to poach AI talent from startups, further fueling the fierce competition in Silicon Valley.
Joshua Gross, a senior software engineer at Thinking Machines, is the latest to leave. According to his LinkedIn, he joined Meta's Super Intelligence Lab last month and now leads the engineering team. Gross previously worked at OpenAI and Meta; at Thinking Machines, he built and launched Tinker, the company's flagship creative software for AI video, images, 3D models, and comic creation.
This isn't the first time Thinking Machines has lost key personnel. Meta has already recruited five founding members from the company, including co-founder Andrew Tulloch, while OpenAI has poached former CTO Barret Zoph and cybersecurity expert Jolene Parish.
Notably, the talent flow isn't one-way. Thinking Machines previously hired Soumith Chintala, the creator of PyTorch, as its CTO, and brought in top competitive programmer Neal Wu. The startup, which raised $2 billion last year at a $12 billion valuation, has grown more than fourfold to around 130 employees, positioning it as a key hub for AI talent.
Major tech companies are spending heavily to hold onto top talent. According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg once offered up to $100 million in compensation to lure core talent from OpenAI. Google reportedly offered a $2.4 billion deal to the CEO of AI coding tools company Windsurf, and Apple issued stock bonuses of $200,000 to $400,000 to hardware designers this March.
With a limited supply of AI talent and rapidly growing demand, this competition shows no signs of slowing down.
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OpenAI robotics leader Caitlin Kalinowski has stepped down following the company’s controversial partnership with the Department of Defense.“This wasn’t an easy call,” Kalinowski explained in a social media statement. “While AI plays a vital role in
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