Australian AI Genius Turns Down $1 Billion Meta Offer to Build Safer, Customisable AI Tools

University of Sydney graduate Andrew Tulloch (pictured), raised in Perth, reportedly rejected a US$1 billion ($1.55 billion) from Mark Zuckerberg

An Australian artificial intelligence expert, Andrew Tulloch, has reportedly declined a $1 billion compensation package from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, choosing instead to focus on his own AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab.

Tulloch, a Perth-born University of Sydney graduate, co-founded the company in February 2025 alongside former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati. Despite receiving an eye-watering offer—allegedly worth $1.55 billion AUD over six years—from Meta to join its team, Tulloch refused, underlining his commitment to Thinking Machines Lab’s mission of creating safer, more transparent, and customisable AI systems.

Mark Zuckerberg (pictured), CEO of Meta, unsuccessfully attempted to buy AI start-up Thinking Machines Lab, co-founded by Australian Andrew Tulloch

Zuckerberg initially attempted to acquire Thinking Machines Lab outright, but Murati rejected the offer. Meta then reportedly launched a talent raid, targeting at least a dozen employees from the startup. While Meta has denied the accuracy of the $1 billion figure, calling it “inaccurate and ridiculous,” insiders say Tulloch was one of the top targets in this aggressive recruitment push.

Tulloch, who moved to the U.S. in 2012, previously spent over a decade at Facebook’s AI division, rising to the rank of distinguished engineer. He later joined OpenAI in 2023 before launching Thinking Machines Lab with former colleagues.

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta branded the US$1 billion figure the company reportedly offered Andrew Tulloch 'inaccurate and ridiculous'

The startup quickly gained traction, raising $2 billion in seed funding from major backers including Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, Nvidia, AMD, Cisco, Jane Street, and even the Albanian government, which reportedly invested $10 million. The funding round pushed the company’s valuation to a staggering $12 billion.

Tulloch is joined at Thinking Machines Lab by a team of heavyweights including OpenAI co-founder John Schulman and AI safety researcher Lilian Weng. The company is developing cutting-edge multimodal AI systems capable of interpreting text, speech, and visuals in real time, with plans to open-source key parts of its technology to encourage collaboration and transparency.

The Albanian government, led by president Bajram Begaj, right, reportedly invested in Tulloch's firm

Andrew Tulloch’s academic background reflects his deep expertise in mathematics and AI. He was vice captain at Christ Church Grammar School in Claremont, Western Australia, and earned an ATAR of 99.95 in 2007. He graduated from the University of Sydney in 2011 with first-class honours and the university medal in mathematics, achieving the highest GPA in the Faculty of Science.

During his studies, he worked at Goldman Sachs as a quant and later earned a master’s degree with distinction in mathematical statistics and machine learning from the University of Cambridge. His honours thesis on prediction markets won the award for best mathematics thesis, and he also received the prestigious Joye Prize.

Tulloch currently resides in San Francisco, California, as indicated by his social media.