OpenAI Offers $1.5M Bonuses To 1,000+ Employees Amid AI Talent War

OpenAI has announced a $1.5 million bonus to every employee, including new hires and contractors, payable over two years as a strategic response to aggressive talent poaching by Meta and other competitors in the AI industry. This unprecedented retention effort comes amid OpenAI's robust financial health, highlighted by recent revenue growth to $13 billion annually, 700 million weekly users, and an $8.3 billion funding round, enabling a potential company valuation of up to $500 billion through a secondary stock sale. The bonus is intended to secure and motivate OpenAI's elite AI researchers and engineers, countering Meta's aggressive multi-million-dollar offers that have successfully recruited key personnel from OpenAI and other tech giants. Industry experts see this move as a clear signal of OpenAI's commitment to maintaining its workforce and competing in the escalating AI talent war. The announcement, made publicly just before the launch of GPT-5, underscores the critical importance of human capital in the race to dominate AI innovation. OpenAI's strategy reflects a broader trend among leading tech companies to create millionaire-level incentives to retain top talent amid fierce competition.