OpenAI Sets Record for Employee Stock Compensation

The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI is paying employees more in stock compensation than any other tech startup in history. Based on data from Equilar, the Journal found that the total stock compensation averages $1.5 million per employee, more than seven times what Google disclosed when it went public in 2004. 

The company’s stock-based compensation averages about $1.5 million per employee across its workforce of roughly 4,000.

Adjusting for inflation, that is about 4.5 times higher than the stock-based pay Google disclosed in 2003 before it filed for an initial public offering in 2004, and 34 times the average of 18 other large tech companies in the year it went public (not adjusted for inflation). The analysis provides only averages, which can mask considerable variation in pay among employees, even though OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has no equity in the company.

It is common for tech startups to offer equity compensation across the board, and many continue to do so after going public, including Google, Microsoft, Cisco, and many others.

The NCEO publishes a book on equity pay written for entrepreneurs, The Decision-Maker's Guide to Equity Compensation.