This summer, Mark Zuckerberg was struggling to poach a top artificial intelligence researcher from rival OpenAI when he heard his target had fallen sick. On top of the offer of a stratospheric salary, the billionaire tech titan added a personal flourish: the hand delivery of some homemade soup.

Bespoke touches from one of the world’s richest men are just one element of the gloves-off, all-consuming bet that Zuckerberg has made this year on turning his social media platform from AI laggard to leader.

In a headlong rush to develop what he dubs “personal superintelligence” and compete with OpenAI and Google, Zuckerberg is pumping billions of dollars into building out the infrastructure that could help him pull off his ambitions while luring talent with gargantuan compensation packages.