AI Expert Rejects $1 Billion Plus Offer from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta

Australian AI expert Andrew Tulloch has reportedly rejected a US$1 billion (A$1.55 billion) offer from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, choosing instead to focus on his fast-rising start-up, Thinking Machines Lab.

Tulloch, a University of Sydney graduate who grew up in Perth, spent more than a decade at Facebook’s parent company before moving to OpenAI in 2023.

Earlier this year, he co-founded Thinking Machines Lab with former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati. The start-up, now valued at US$12 billion (A$18.5 billion), aims to make “AI systems more widely understood, customizable and generally capable.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Zuckerberg initially tried to acquire the company, but Murati rejected the offer.

He then attempted to lure top talent from the start-up, allegedly offering Tulloch a six-year pay package worth US$1 billion, with additional bonuses and stock incentives. Tulloch declined. Meta later dismissed the reported figure as “inaccurate and ridiculous.”

Tulloch moved to the United States in 2012 and rose to the role of distinguished engineer at Facebook’s AI division. Former Facebook executive Mike Vernal described him as “an extreme genius.”