Meta Star AI Researcher Andrew Tulloch Resigns
Renowned AI researcher Andrew Tulloch has announced his resignation from Meta, marking another high-profile departure from a major AI lab. He had previously been offered a massive compensation package worth up to $1.5 billion by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to rejoin the company during an intense talent war. Tulloch's resignation highlights the ongoing churn and fierce competition for elite talent across major tech firms and AI startups. It demonstrates that even record-breaking compensation offers cannot guarantee long-term retention of top researchers in the fast-moving AI landscape. Tulloch previously spent 11 years at Meta before joining OpenAI in 2023 and co-founding Thinking Machines Lab, later returning to Meta for an undisclosed salary. He did not specify his next move, joining a recent wave of departures that includes key researchers from Google and Anthropic.
## BACKGROUND
As tech giants race to lead the artificial intelligence revolution, top-tier research talent has become extraordinarily scarce and valuable. Thinking Machines Lab is an AI research startup founded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati that focuses on developing open-weights language models. Major tech companies frequently offer massive stock options and high salaries to recruit and retain the core scientists building these models.