Zuckerberg–Altman rivalry: Silicon Valley’s biggest AI drama

The rivalry between Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman has rapidly grown into one of the most talked-about feuds in Silicon Valley.

What began as mutual admiration has evolved into a battle over talent, strategy, and the future of artificial intelligence (AI).

Unlike Altman’s clash with Elon Musk, this rivalry is not rooted in personal grievances but in the struggle to dominate the next technological frontier.

From admiration to competition

Years before the AI race heated up, Sam Altman publicly praised Mark Zuckerberg’s hiring methods and even interviewed him in a friendly exchange.

At the time, Meta and OpenAI were not direct competitors. However, things changed in late 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT, which catapulted OpenAI into the global spotlight.

Zuckerberg, seeing Meta lagging behind, shifted his focus toward building cutting-edge AI systems.

Open vs closed AI models

One of the first visible points of conflict came from differing philosophies. Altman’s OpenAI, despite its name, built a business model around closed, proprietary systems accessible via paid APIs.

Zuckerberg, on the other hand, positioned Meta’s Llama models as open-source alternatives, framing his strategy as more transparent and collaborative.

This alignment with Musk’s criticism of OpenAI added more fuel to the rivalry.

The battle for talent

The rivalry intensified in 2024 and 2025 when Meta began aggressively recruiting OpenAI’s top researchers.

Reports surfaced of staggering offers, with signing bonuses allegedly reaching $100 million. 

While some dismissed these figures as exaggerated, Meta undeniably succeeded in luring several key scientists.

OpenAI insiders described Meta’s tactics as “invasion,” while Altman accused Zuckerberg’s team of acting like mercenaries who rely on money over mission.

Lawsuits and ambitions

Tensions further escalated when Meta was accused of using copyrighted datasets to train its Llama models, highlighting the cutthroat nature of the AI race.

Meanwhile, Zuckerberg launched “Superintelligence Labs,” aiming to develop AI systems smarter than humans, a move directly challenging OpenAI’s mission of artificial general intelligence.

For Altman, the mission is to safeguard AI’s responsible future. For Zuckerberg, it’s about embedding AI into the world’s largest social platforms while racing to build superintelligence.