OpenAI Rewards Employees with Multimillion-Dollar Bonuses Ahead of GPT-5 Launch

OpenAI has announced a significant reward for its employees just before the much-anticipated launch of GPT-5. CEO Sam Altman informed select staff via a company-wide message on Slack about a “special one-time award” aimed at researchers and software engineers within key departments, including applied engineering, scaling, and safety.

Altman highlighted that this decision stems from recent market changes, stating, “We have been looking at comp for our technical teams given the movement in the market.” He expressed intentions to continue enhancing compensation as the company progresses. “We very much intend to keep increasing comp as we keep doing better and better as a company,” he added, acknowledging the employees’ exceptional contributions toward building artificial general intelligence (AGI).

The bonuses will vary based on role and seniority, with the most esteemed researchers potentially receiving payouts in the mid, single-digit millions. Software engineers are expected to be awarded bonuses averaging in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Payments will be distributed quarterly over the next two years, and recipients can choose to receive their bonuses in cash, OpenAI stock, or a combination of both. Approximately 1,000 employees, or about one-third of OpenAI’s workforce, qualify for this incentive.

In conjunction with these bonuses, OpenAI is preparing to offer employees the opportunity to cash out millions of dollars worth of vested stock. Altman has indicated that he expects employees to sell their shares at a much higher valuation than the $274 price from the recent funding round, which valued the company at $300 billion. Recent reports suggest OpenAI’s valuation may climb to $500 billion in an upcoming tender offer.

This unprecedented move to distribute bonuses to a broad range of employees underscores the intense competition for talent within the artificial intelligence sector. Altman has faced challenges retaining key personnel, especially as Meta has been actively recruiting from OpenAI. Notably, Shengjia Zhao, one of the creators of ChatGPT, was recently appointed chief scientist at Meta. OpenAI’s chief research officer, Mark Chen, has publicly expressed concerns about these poaching efforts, likening the situation to a home invasion.

The talent competition extends beyond Meta, as Elon Musk‘s company xAI has been making aggressive offers to attract top talent from OpenAI. Additionally, former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has successfully recruited several technical leaders to establish her new venture, Thinking Machines.

While the bonus initiative is seen as a positive step, it also poses the risk of creating division among employees. Those not included in the bonus program may feel overlooked, particularly as the company prepares for the launch of GPT-5. Following the event, Altman celebrated with employees at a happy hour in a bar located near OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco.

The excitement surrounding GPT-5 has not only energized OpenAI staff but has also caught the attention of other companies. For instance, Cursor executives appeared during OpenAI’s livestream, announcing their decision to adopt GPT-5 as their default model, replacing their previous model, Claude. This shift could have significant ramifications for Anthropic, as Cursor represents a substantial portion of its revenue. In response, Anthropic has expedited updates to Claude, enhancing its coding capabilities.

OpenAI’s approach to early access for GPT-5 has also drawn interest. Unlike traditional media outlets, OpenAI selected a select group of independent writers and AI influencers to experience the model ahead of its launch. This strategy has minimized leaks, showcasing the company’s ability to maintain confidentiality around new developments.

As the AI landscape evolves, OpenAI’s bonus initiative and the successful launch of GPT-5 demonstrate the ongoing race for talent and innovation in the sector. The competitive dynamics among leading companies ensure that developments will continue to unfold rapidly, leaving stakeholders keenly observing the next moves in this transformative field.