Smallest AI, a San Francisco-based startup founded by Indian-origin entrepreneur Sudarshan Kamath, is making a bold play for top talent, extending a direct invitation to the approximately 600 employees recently laid off from Meta’s AI division.
The move capitalizes on Meta’s internal restructuring, which targeted teams like the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) unit, AI product teams, and infrastructure groups.
Smallest AI is actively recruiting these displaced experts for its speech AI team and offering highly attractive compensation:
- Base Salaries: Ranging from $200,000 to $600,000, plus flexible equity.
- The Bar is High: Kamath is looking for candidates who are “fkin smart and hungry,” with proven expertise in speech evaluation, speech generation, and full-duplex speech-to-speech systems.
This aggressive hiring strategy underscores the fierce competition in the AI sector, demonstrating how nimble startups are ready to absorb top-tier talent jettisoned by Big Tech in the name of “leaner operations.”
