Thinking Machines Lab Co-Founder Reportedly Offered $1.5 Billion by Meta

Andrew Tulloch, co-founder of Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has left the company to join Meta. Tulloch’s departure comes amid Meta’s high-profile push to poach elite AI talent and accelerate its superintelligence ambitions, especially following the lackluster reception of its Llama 4 model.

Thinking Machines Lab, founded in late 2024 quickly made waves for its focus on fine-tuning open AI models. Tulloch’s move is seen as a key development in Silicon Valley’s escalating battle for top researchers.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had reportedly first attempted to acquire Thinking Machines Lab outright, a bid rebuffed by Murati. When that failed, Zuckerberg extended offers to more than a dozen of the startup’s staff, with Tulloch ultimately accepting an invitation to transition to Meta.

Sources at the Wall Street Journal suggest Tulloch’s compensation package could have reached $1.5 billion over six years, featuring rich bonuses and an aggressive stock grant, though Meta’s spokesperson dismissed the figures as “inaccurate and ridiculous.”