In a stunning move to retain top talent, OpenAI is said to be awarding $1.5 million in bonuses per employee over the next two years, even extending the offer to new hires.
This aggressive countermeasure reportedly comes in response to Meta’s recent hiring spree, where offers as high as $20 million per year are being used to lure
AI researchers away from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. With Meta ramping up its internal “SuperIntelligence Labs,” the AI talent war is reaching new heights.
A post on X by researcher Yuchen Jin appears to confirm the news, stating:
“Imagine releasing a big tech like GPT-5, and the night before, getting $1.5M bonus.”
If true, this signals a massive shift in how AI companies are fighting for talent and what it now costs to keep the best minds in-house.
