Meta has employed two significant AI researchers who previously worked at Apple, shortly after luring away their former supervisor from the iPhone company, Bloomberg reported. 

The social media giant has brought on Mark Lee and Tom Gunter for its Superintelligence Labs team. Lee has already joined Meta, while Gunter is expected to start soon, according to the report.

These actions are part of a competitive effort to attract AI talent across the technology sector. 

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is particularly proactive in its recruitment initiatives. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has prioritised AI within the organisation, investing heavily in personnel and data centres to match competitors like OpenAI and Google.

Gunter departed from Apple last month, as reported by Bloomberg at that time, and both he and Lee collaborated closely with Ruoming Pang, who leads Apple’s LLMs team and was recruited by Meta earlier this month. 

According to the report, Meta proposed a compensation package worth well over $200 million for multiple years to hire Pang.

Lee was recognised as Pang’s first hire at Apple, while Gunter, who held the title of distinguished engineer at Apple, was seen as one of the most experienced members of the team. Gunter joined another AI company following his exit from Apple and left that position recently.

Earlier this year, Meta recruited three researchers from OpenAI to support its efforts to develop superintelligent systems, as reported by AIM. The three newly hired researchers, Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai, were instrumental in establishing OpenAI’s office in Zurich, Switzerland, the previous year.

The company has reportedly been offering exceptionally high compensation packages to OpenAI employees, which may include signing bonuses of $100 million or more, as mentioned by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Perplexity AI has secured additional funding in a deal that values the company at $18 billion, according to a Bloomberg report.

According to the report, the company has raised $100 million through this financing. This deal is an extension of a previous funding round from a few months prior, which estimated the company’s worth at $14 billion, highlighting the competitive landscape in Silicon Valley, where investing in leading AI startups is a focus.

Initially, Perplexity sought an $18 billion valuation during the May funding round but encountered pushback from investors. However, after the close of that round, new investors reached out to the company and were informed they could acquire equity at an $18 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

The three-year-old company is positioning itself to challenge Google’s supremacy in internet search and has recently introduced a browser alongside its AI-fueled search engine.

According to the Financial Times, Perplexity has been frequently speculated to be a potential acquisition target, as major tech companies like Apple and Meta aim to gain an edge over competitors such as Google and OpenAI. However, CEO Aravind Srinivas has consistently stated his desire to take the company public.

Several competing AI startups experiencing similar growth patterns have recently formed partnerships with big tech firms. These deals, including Meta’s $15 billion investment in Scale AI last month and Google’s $2.4 billion agreement to hire leaders from coding startup Windsurf, have created new exit paths for startup founders.

In India, Airtel, one of the leading telecom providers, is offering a free one-year Perplexity Pro plan through the Airtel Thanks app on smartphones.