"This company gives ‘bonuses’ worth billions to employees"…A generous move

OpenAI is granting 'special bonuses' ranging from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars to around 1,000 core technical staff in line with the launch of GPT-5.

According to The Verge on the 11th, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, announced via an internal Slack message on the eve of GPT-5’s release that “OpenAI has been reviewing its compensation structure for technical teams in line with the state of the market,” adding, “We are providing special bonuses to key researchers and software engineers.”

The scale of the bonus varies depending on position. Top researchers will receive several million dollars, and engineers will receive several hundred thousand dollars. The bonuses will be paid quarterly over two years. Recipients can choose from cash, stock, or a mix of both. Approximately one third of all full-time employees are eligible for these bonuses.

OpenAI also decided to expand employees’ opportunities to liquidate their equity. Altman expressed his expectation that employees would be able to sell their shares at much higher prices than the valuation of $274 per share seen in previous rounds. Bloomberg reported that OpenAI’s company value could reach up to $500 billion (about ₩667 trillion).

This round of bonuses appears to be a countermeasure to prevent brain drain amid intensifying competition for AI talent. Meta recently hired former ChatGPT developers, while xAI, Elon Musk’s company, and a research institute founded by former CTO Mira Murati are also actively recruiting talent.

There is a possibility of discontent among some employees who were excluded from the bonus distribution. Nevertheless, The Verge reported that the internal mood at OpenAI was elevated just after GPT-5’s announcement, and on the day of the release, Altman enjoyed happy hour at a sports bar near San Francisco’s Chase Center with employees.

Reporter Eunhee Ko koko@hankyung.com