OpenAI to adjust salary, reward employees in response to Meta hires

OpenAI is reportedly reassessing and increasing its compensation packages following a wave of high-profile researcher departures to Meta.

According to an internal Slack memo obtained by Wired, OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer Mark Chen told employees that leadership has been actively working to retain top talent in light of the recent exits.

“I feel a visceral feeling right now, as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something,” Chen wrote in the message, acknowledging the internal unrest following the departures.

He emphasised that the company’s leadership, himself, CEO Sam Altman, and others, has been working “around the clock” to speak with employees who’ve received offers from competitors like Meta.

“We’re recalibrating comp, and we’re scoping out creative ways to recognize and reward top talent,” he added.

The memo follows reports that at least eight senior researchers have recently left OpenAI to join Meta’s AI superintelligence team.

This includes notable contributors to foundational AI models like GPT and OpenAI’s internal reasoning frameworks. 

The hiring spree by Meta has put pressure on OpenAI to improve its retention strategies.

Earlier, Altman raised eyebrows during an appearance on the Uncapped podcast when he claimed Meta was offering “$100 million signing bonuses” to OpenAI employees.

However, Meta leadership reportedly refuted the claim, suggesting those numbers were exaggerated or lacked context.