Meta Platforms has reportedly offered an unprecedented compensation package, which is more than USD 200 million, to Ruoming Pang, who was the former head of Apple’s artificial intelligence division. Pang will now be playing a central role in Meta’s ambitious ‘superintelligence’ program.
According to Bloomberg, Apple has declined to match the offer, as the figures surpassed the norm even for senior executive roles at the company, excluding Tim Cook (the CEO).
Meta’s superintelligence team is attracting top talent
This hiring is a part of Meta’s wider effort to build a powerhouse AI division. The team already includes:
- Ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman
- Entrepreneur Daniel Gross
- Scale AI’s Co-Founder Alexandr Wang—who was named as Meta’s Chief AI Officer, following Meta’s acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in Scale AI, valued at USD 14.3 billion.
What is Superintelligence?
Meta’s Superintelligence Labs (known as MSL) is focusing on creating AI systems that could surpass human intelligence across all domains. While this concept is known as superintelligence, but is still theoretical and further represents the next big leap after artificial general intelligence (AGI), which aims to match human cognitive abilities across diverse tasks.
Why is the compensation so high for Ruoming Pang?
This is the cost of the multi-year package, which is being offered to Pang, and it is largely on the basis of performance. It also includes a base salary, a signing bonus and a substantial equity share in Meta.
Much of the value will depend on Pang’s long-term commitment and Meta’s stock performance. In cases where candidates leave startups with valuable equity, Meta boosts signing bonuses to offset those losses.
Meta’s recent AI setbacks push aggressive recruitment
Meta was once viewed as a leader in open-source AI innovation, but recent internal struggles further including the delay of its next-gen models and several employee exits, have prompted the company to intensify recruitment efforts.
These high-profile hires and billion-dollar offers reflect Meta’s urgent push to regain its competitive edge in AI.
