AMD CEO Lisa Su Rejects $100 Million Salaries in AI Talent War, Emphasizing Mission and Impact

AMD CEO won't offer $100 million salaries to poach talent like Mark Zuckerberg -- she says it's more important staff don't feel like a 'cog in the wheel'

AI is set to become a $4.8 trillion industry by 2033 -- so the competition to snag the best talent is heating up, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attempting to poach rival staffers with $100 million pay packages. But some tech execs leading billion-dollar businesses are pushing back on wooing employees with golden handcuffs. "I think competition for talent is fierce. I am a believer, though, that money is important, but frankly, it's not necessarily the most important thing when you're attracting talent," Lisa Su, CEO of $284 billion semiconductor giant AMD, recently told Wired. "I think it's important to be in the zip code [of those numbers], but then it's super-important to have people who really believe in the mission of what you're trying to do." Instead, she wants future hires at AMD to be wooed by the thought of being part of the company's meteoric rise and making an impact on the future of technology. "From a recruitment standpoint, it's always like, 'Do you want to be part of our mission?' Because the ride is really what we're trying to attract people to. It's the ride of, 'Look, if you want to come do important technology, make an impact, you're not just a cog in the wheel, but you're actually someone who's going to drive the future of our road map, then you want to be at AMD.'" Plus, it's not like AMD staffers are underpaid: "I think people have done relatively well here, because the stock's done OK," Su added. At the end of the day, the 55-year-old CEO says dishing out $100 million salaries to new staff would be unfair to existing workers on lower pay packages, still putting in hard work. "It's not really about one person in our world," Su reasoned. "I mean, it's really about great people, don't get me wrong -- we have some incredible people." Fortune reached out to AMD for comment. Su isn't the only Silicon Valley chief executive refusing to match Zuckerberg's eye-popping pay packages. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei also isn't willing to shell out $100 million in poaching retaliation. And the two leaders agree on one thing: their companies care about fostering innovation above all else -- and that drive can't be bought with nine-figure salaries. "I think that what they are doing is trying to buy something that cannot be bought, and that is alignment with the mission. I think there are selection effects here," Amodei recently revealed on the Big Technology Podcast. "Are they getting the people who are most enthusiastic, who are most mission aligned, who are most excited?" Meta CEO has managed to poach at least seven staffers from rival AI companies, including OpenAI with its $100 million offer. But Anthropic's leader is adamant that most of his employees are actually turning it down, and "wouldn't even talk" to Zuckerberg. Echoing AMD's CEO that it would be unfair to pay or treat staffers differently in the AI talent war, Amodei thinks it could stifle innovation. In fact, he believes fighting fire with fire by offering the same sky-high compensation would actually "destroy" company culture. "We are not willing to compromise our compensation principles, our principles of fairness, to respond individually to these offers," Amodei said. "The way things work at Anthropic is there's a series of levels. One candidate comes in, they get assigned a level, and we don't negotiate that level, because we think it's unfair. We want to have a systematic way." The Anthropic leader said Meta, and by extension Zuckerberg, are trying to buy employees who will be devoted to driving their AI models to new heights. But he may be hard pressed to find such loyalty; Anthropic has a 80% retention rate for employees hired over the last two years, while Meta is trailing behind at 64%.

Lisa Su Pushes Back Against Mark Zuckerberg's $100 Million AI Hiring Frenzy: 'Money is important... Not Necessarily The Most Important Thing' - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD)

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD CEO Lisa Su has rejected Silicon Valley's escalating million-dollar AI talent war, highlighting mission alignment and workplace impact over staggering salaries. AMD Prioritizes Mission Over Mega Pay Su said that AMD will not match Meta Platforms, Inc.'s META CEO Mark Zuckerberg's reported $100 million compensation offers aimed at poaching top AI talent. In an interview with Wired, which was published earlier this week, Su said, "I think competition for talent is fierce. I am a believer, though, that money is important, but frankly, it's not necessarily the most important thing when you're attracting talent." Instead, Su wants potential hires to be motivated by AMD's growth trajectory and the chance to shape the future of technology. "From a recruitment standpoint, it's always like, 'Do you want to be part of our mission?'... It's the ride of, 'Look, if you want to come do important technology, make an impact, you're not just a cog in the wheel, but you're actually someone who's going to drive the future of our road map, then you want to be at AMD,'" she added. See Also: Ramit Sethi Lays Out the Most Common Money Traps -- And How To Dodge Them Before It's Too Late Lisa Su Puts Fairness And Culture Over Eye-Popping Salaries The AMD CEO also highlighted fairness to existing employees as a key reason for avoiding massive pay packages for new hires. "It's not really about one person in our world. It's really about great people... We have some incredible people," Su said. The focus, she noted, is fostering an environment where employees feel valued rather than simply compensated. Dario Amodei Says His Employees Wouldn't Even Talk To Zuckerberg Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei echoed Su's sentiment, telling the Big Technology Podcast in July, "I think that what they are doing is trying to buy something that cannot be bought, and that is alignment with the mission... We are not willing to compromise our compensation principles, our principles of fairness, to respond individually to these offers." The startup's chief insisted that most of the company's employees are rejecting the offer and "wouldn't even speak" to Zuckerberg. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Nvidia And Alphabet CEOs Also Stress Mission And Efficiency Other Silicon Valley leaders, including Nvidia Corporation NVDA CEO Jensen Huang and Alphabet CEO GOOG GOOGL Sundar Pichai, have downplayed the importance of executive-level compensation in attracting AI talent. Huang said that the efficiency of small, well-funded teams, while Pichai said Alphabet remains strong in retaining top AI researchers. AI Talent Wars Heat Up In Silicon Valley Zuckerberg has reportedly recruited at least seven employees from rival AI companies, including OpenAI, using these nine-figure packages. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation MSFT is also reportedly aggressively targeting Meta AI engineers with multimillion-dollar signing bonuses to bolster its AI divisions, including Microsoft AI and CoreAI. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives previously called the surge in AI hiring and compensation "a watershed moment for technology," with combined spending expected to reach $240 billion through 2026. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: AMD CEO Lisa Su Says China Strategy Rebounding As MI308 AI Chips Await US License: 'Better Position Than We Were Ninety Days Ago' Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: jamesonwu1972 On Shutterstock.com AMDAdvanced Micro Devices Inc$183.00-0.77%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum87.41Growth92.43Quality75.69Value11.51Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewGOOGAlphabet Inc$203.00-0.01%GOOGLAlphabet Inc$201.94-0.01%METAMeta Platforms Inc$782.400.30%MSFTMicrosoft Corp$521.870.25%NVDANVIDIA Corp$181.59-%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs