AI talent war intensifies as signing bonuses soar

This escalating war for talent in Silicon Valley offers a sobering parallel to Korea’s own efforts in the AI sector

Cho Won-kyeong

The author is a professor at UNIST and the head of the Global Industry-University Cooperation Center.

In professional sports, signing bonuses have long been used to lure star athletes. These upfront payments, offered in addition to salaries, are designed to secure top talent and build loyalty. In baseball, Shohei Ohtani and Stephen Strasburg each received bonuses exceeding $100 million. In football, FC Barcelona’s signing bonus to Lionel Messi reportedly reached 115.2 million euros ($135 million). But this trend is no longer limited to the world of sports.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has reportedly offered signing bonuses of $100 million or more, along with even higher annual salaries, to recruit engineers and researchers from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is said to be personally reaching out to potential recruits as Meta makes an aggressive push into artificial intelligence.

Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox speaks at LlamaCon 2025, an AI developer conference, in Menlo Park, California on April 29. [AP/YONHAP]

The company’s stock performance appears to justify its bold investment. As of July 1, Meta shares had climbed 26.06 percent this year, the highest gain among the so-called "Magnificent Seven" tech giants, surpassing Nvidia’s 17.65 percent rise. With such strong market confidence, Meta has room to spend heavily on talent acquisition.

This hiring spree is already having a visible effect. A growing number of researchers have left OpenAI to join Meta, prompting OpenAI to overhaul its compensation structure in an effort to retain staff. Executives at OpenAI have openly acknowledged their sense of urgency, likening Meta’s poaching to a break-in. Managers are reportedly engaging in daily discussions with employees who have received outside offers in hopes of persuading them to stay.

This escalating war for talent in Silicon Valley offers a sobering parallel to Korea’s own efforts in the AI sector. The new administration has announced plans to cultivate 200,000 AI professionals, establish an AI-focused university, and offer lifelong education in the field. Yet critics argue that the plans lack concrete implementation strategies.

Korea currently ranks 35th out of 38 OECD countries in terms of net AI talent inflow — a telling indicator of the challenges it faces. Without the kind of resolve and decisive action seen in global tech firms, Korea may struggle to keep pace in the high-stakes race for AI leadership.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.