Meta (META, Financials) is diving headfirst into the race for Artificial Superintelligence and this time, it’s not holding back. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reignited the term Zuck Bucks; once a nickname for campaign donations, it’s now shorthand for eight- and nine-figure signing packages aimed at luring the best AI minds in the world, according to a Reuters report.
Faced with talent losses and a disappointing release of its Llama 4 model, Meta has ramped up hiring and it’s not being subtle. From a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI to attempts at poaching Safe Superintelligence’s Ilya Sutskever, Meta is making one thing clear: it wants back in the lead.
Zuckerberg reportedly failed to recruit Sutskever but may be close to landing SSI co-founder Daniel Gross and NFDG’s Nat Friedman. These aren’t just star names they’re magnets; and Meta hopes they’ll help rebuild a team that’s been bleeding to labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
Meanwhile, Meta is forming an elite Superintelligence unit to push the boundaries of what AI can do. But internal divisions remain; Meta’s Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun has publicly questioned the long-term viability of large language models the very thing the company’s top rivals are doubling down on.
To complicate matters, Meta is betting on a mix of technologies: reasoning-based LLMs, multimodal AI, and even geopolitical hedges. For example, it’s developing a new B40 chip tailored for the Chinese market, just in case export restrictions eventually ease.
Zuckerberg’s bet? Talent first; product later. This isn’t classic M&A it’s AI land-grabbing. Meta is willing to buy pre-product, pre-revenue startups if it means acquiring breakthrough IP and elite researchers. Profitability can wait; ASI supremacy can’t.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
