In January, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company would “slow down sharply” in hiring to avoid mass layoffs. But OpenAI continues to grow and is actively hiring from abroad. And the recent high-profile addition to the team — OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger — underscores that the AI talent wars are still in full swing.
In January, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company would “slow down sharply” in hiring to avoid mass layoffs. But OpenAI continues to grow and is actively hiring from abroad. And the recent high-profile addition to the team — OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger — underscores that the AI talent wars are still in full swing.
OpenAI's team is made up of graduates from elite universities like Stanford, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon University, and they're paid accordingly. The company's more than 4,000 employees receive an average of $1.5 million in stock compensation.
OpenAI does not publicly disclose salary data. However, federal reports required of companies that hire foreign workers provide an idea of how much it pays for key positions. The filings only list base salaries, not stock awards or bonuses that can significantly increase compensation.
OpenAI hired more than 60 foreign employees in the most recent quarter, according to hiring data for the period from October to December 2025, Business Insider reports . This is up from the previous quarter and shows steady growth, despite the Trump administration's $100,000 fee for each new H-1B visa application introduced in September.
OpenAI offers some of the highest salaries in the market across the board. At the top of the scale are AI researchers with a base salary of $245,000 to $685,000. Salaries for engineering positions can reach around $500,000, while sales professionals can expect to make between $165,000 and $290,000.
