*In 2024, the AI talent war reached a new level.* 📈 Google and OpenAI began poaching Meta’s top engineers. Instead of relying on recruiters, Mark Zuckerberg took matters into his own hands. He started personally emailing rival employees. No million-dollar offer. Not even five million. Try $10 million per year — or more. Some offers were 8-figure packages. No specific role. No job description. Just: > “We want you.” By January 2024, Meta was bleeding AI talent. OpenAI snagged key researchers. Google took their computer vision team. It wasn’t just a few people—it was an exodus. Traditional recruiting failed. Headhunters couldn’t compete. HR couldn’t fight Google’s prestige. There were maybe 100 people globally who deeply understood frontier AI. So Meta created a shortlist of 50–100 of them. Then Zuckerberg emailed each one personally. Why this move? Because AI talent is irreplaceable. > “Training frontier models is like alchemy,” one expert said. “A small number of researchers can create billions in value.” And Meta’s investments reflect that: $15B stake in Scale AI $60–65B AI infrastructure budget for 2025 AI revenue forecast: $460B to $1.4T by 2035 The biggest shift? It’s not just how much Meta is spending. It’s why they’re spending it. > The tools are no longer the edge. Everyone will have access to the same models. Leverage now lies in people, not platforms. And the race is on. 📉 In 2024, Meta lost 4.3% of their AI team. 📉 Google lost 5.4%. 📈 OpenAI and others kept building the future. The talent war has just begun. 💡 Founders, technologists, and leaders: The smartest players aren’t just building AI — they’re building gravity. Because in this new era, code is commoditized. Talent is not. The tools are available to all. The differentiator is who you have — not what you build. The AI arms race won’t be won by infrastructure alone. It will be won by those who attract, empower, and retain the 100 minds shaping the future. The future of AI isn’t just about intelligence. It’s about who gets to build it.