The financial landscape for employees at OpenAI appears to be shifting dramatically, with the company’s reported average stock-based compensation reaching an unprecedented $1.5 million per employee in 2025. This figure, highlighted by the Wall Street Journal, positions the ChatGPT maker far ahead of historical benchmarks in the tech sector, even when accounting for inflation. Such substantial equity sharing underscores a burgeoning trend within the artificial intelligence industry, where competition for top talent is exceptionally fierce.
To put this in perspective, Google’s average stock compensation during its early 2000s initial public offering, adjusted for inflation, amounted to roughly a quarter of a million dollars. OpenAI’s current average dwarfs this, standing at approximately six times that amount. This aggressive approach to compensation is not merely a sign of generosity; it reflects a strategic imperative. Rivals like Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, and Google are all actively vying for the same limited pool of skilled AI researchers and developers. Offering such significant equity stakes serves as a powerful retention tool, aiming to keep its critical workforce from being lured away by competing offers.
The company’s valuation, recently reported at $830 billion from its latest funding round, places it among the most valuable private firms globally. An eventual IPO at or near this valuation could transform thousands of OpenAI employees into multimillionaires, creating a new cohort of wealth in Silicon Valley and beyond. This is particularly salient given that nearly half, 46.2% to be exact, of OpenAI’s annual revenue is reportedly allocated to stock-based compensation, illustrating the company’s commitment to this model. While $1.5 million represents the average, it suggests that some of the most sought-after talent, particularly research scientists, could be receiving even higher grants, potentially ranging from $2 million to $4 million at Series D stage startups, according to venture capital insights.
Beyond existing employees, OpenAI continues to expand its workforce rapidly, listing over 450 open roles across the United States alone. These positions span diverse areas from research and product policy to go-to-market strategies. Interestingly, formal degree requirements are often downplayed in job qualifications, with a greater emphasis placed on demonstrated ability, technical depth, and alignment with the company’s mission. For many of these roles, base salaries commonly exceed $200,000, complemented by the significant equity offerings and, frequently, relocation assistance. Even early-career opportunities are lucrative; a fall software engineering internship, for instance, advertises an hourly wage of $60, providing a direct pathway into one of the world’s fastest-growing tech companies.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, has offered straightforward advice for those aspiring to join the company and potentially benefit from these opportunities: master AI tools. He drew a parallel to the early days of the internet, suggesting that just as coding proficiency was once paramount, expertise in leveraging AI tools is now the essential skill for the current generation. While Altman steers this rapidly expanding enterprise, his personal financial arrangement with OpenAI stands in stark contrast to the employee compensation model. He reportedly holds no equity in the company and received a relatively modest salary of $76,001 in 2024. Despite this, Altman remains a figure of considerable wealth, with a net worth of $3.1 billion derived from investments in other ventures like Stripe, Reddit, and Helion.
Altman, alongside his husband Oliver Mulherin, recently signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least half of their wealth to philanthropy. This commitment echoes a broader conversation among AI leaders regarding the societal implications of rapidly accumulating wealth through artificial intelligence. Dario Amodei, CEO of rival Anthropic, has voiced concerns about the potential for AI-driven productivity gains to concentrate unprecedented value in the hands of a select few, warning of a level of wealth concentration that could fracture society. In response, all seven of Anthropic’s cofounders, including Dario and Daniela Amodei, have pledged to donate 80% of their considerable wealth, estimated at over $3.7 billion each. These actions highlight a growing introspection within the AI community about how to manage the vast economic shifts that their technologies are poised to unleash.
