According to Business Insider, as the artificial intelligence industry continues to attract investment and attention, the talent competition between Elon Musk's xAI and Sam Altman's OpenAI is intensifying. Musk filed a lawsuit in August this year, accusing OpenAI of using "lavish compensation" to "starve competitors."
To verify Musk's salary claims, Business Insider analyzed the wage data from special visa applications submitted by both companies since 2024. The research found that while both companies offer salaries far above the industry average for a few positions, OpenAI's compensation exceeds even the standard salary range. The documents submitted when hiring foreign workers holding special visas, such as H-1B, provide a unique perspective on the salary details of these two companies.
It is reported that xAI currently has only about 100 employees, while OpenAI has around 3,000 employees. According to data from the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services, xAI pays 37% above the industry average for investigative positions, while OpenAI pays 87% above. Specifically, the salary range for xAI's special visa application positions varies from $250,000 to $500,000, with salaries for chief machine learning engineers approaching twice the current wage; OpenAI's special visa application positions offer salaries ranging from $145,000 to $530,000, with some technical roles exceeding three times the current wage.
In 2015, Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI, with Musk being one of the initial investors who committed $1 billion. In 2018, he resigned from the board due to potential conflicts of interest with Tesla in the field of artificial intelligence. Since then, Musk has publicly criticized OpenAI multiple times, claiming that the company has deviated from its original mission. He has filed lawsuits this year, accusing OpenAI of anti-competitive behavior and claiming that he has been "deceived" and "manipulated." OpenAI's lawyers countered that these lawsuits are merely Musk's attempts to harass the company for competitive advantage.
Since Musk launched xAI in 2023, the company has hired at least nine former OpenAI employees, including xAI co-founder Igor Babuschkin. In April of this year, xAI also recruited an engineer from Tesla. This talent war reflects the fierce competition in the artificial intelligence industry and the demand for top talent. Musk emphasized in the lawsuit that hiring should be the company's "top priority" and advocated for "bringing in top talent at all costs." Notably, neither Musk, Altman, nor their companies' representatives have made further comments on these allegations.
