The race to build superior AI has sparked an intense talent battle between AI startup OpenAI and tech titan Google. As reported by The Information, both companies are aggressively recruiting each other's top AI researchers, enticing them with huge compensation packages in a bid to assemble the best minds in the field.
OpenAI in particular is pursuing an aggressive strategy, leveraging its meteoric valuation growth to tempt Google's brightest with the prospect of swift and substantial stock gains. The stakes are clear - whoever amasses the deepest bench of star researchers will be best positioned to dominate the future of AI.
At the heart of OpenAI's recruitment drive is a compelling financial incentive: the promise of a significant stock package, based on a projected tripling of the company's valuation to over $80 billion. OpenAI's recruiters are directly targeting Google's top AI talent, offering stock packages at the current $27 billion valuation, which are expected to appreciate substantially. This strategy not only aims to attract high-level expertise but also to capitalize on the anticipated increase in OpenAI's market value. Essentially, joining before its upcoming share tender would let staff lock in OpenAI's current $27 billion valuation before it nearly triples.
OpenAI recruiters are pitching annual compensation packages around $5-10 million for senior researchers who jump ship depending on their role and expertise. Of course, these rewards assume the hires get in before OpenAI's second share sale this year closes. After that, there may be less upside due to the equity structure from Microsoft's $10 billion investment. This contrasts with Google's traditional equity model, which, coupled with a recovering advertising business and profitable cloud server rental, has seen its shares rise 46% so far this year.
As of now, Google seems unwilling to match such inflated offers. However, after previously losing out on important hires to OpenAI, the company now pays higher salaries for key employees. OpenAI has also recently given raises to some junior employees to stay competitive in the current market.
Access to unparalleled computing power is another key bargaining chip. Both companies are touting access to superior computing resources in order to woo researchers. OpenAI claims its researchers get more hands-on time with the specialized AI chips needed to run cutting-edge models. But some employees believe Google still has the edge given its massive investments in data centers and proprietary chips.
The reality is that OpenAI depends on Microsoft for access to AI hardware as part of their lucrative partnership. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has privately acknowledged Google's computing advantage is likely to persist until more capacity is available from Microsoft next year. Still, OpenAI prides itself on providing fast access to chips to test new techniques.
This talent tug-of-war is emblematic of the fierce competition across the AI industry. Other tech giants like Anthropic and Meta are also in the fray, seeking to advance their own AI technologies. To illustrate the dynamic and bidirectional nature of this talent war, OpenAI has successfully recruited key personnel from Google, including Jiahui Yu, a pivotal figure in Google's Gemini AI model project. Conversely, Matt Wiethoff, who led development of ChatGPT's popular code interpreter feature joined Google in October from OpenAI.
The only certainty is that the AI talent wars will continue escalating. For now, OpenAI's sky-high valuation enables it to outspend others. But the tech giants have vast resources to play the long game. Ultimately, the victors will be those who can amass and retain the brightest minds.