AI startup OpenAI has ended its equity vesting period for employees, in a bid to allow employees to earn lucrative share equity compensation, as per a Wall Street Journal report.
Tech companies normally have a vesting period of 1 year. The move by Sam Altman’s company is intended to allow employees to earn some equity early on, assuaging any fears of being laid off without a substantial payoff.
An equity vesting period is a set timeframe over which employees are given stock options in the company they work for. This helps to fairly compensate early employees for sticking with the firm during the founding stages of a company, although they can also be handed over to senior management.
OpenAI is now one of the most valuable AI startups in the market, crossing a valuation of $500 billion.
Silicon Valley is currently embroiled in a bid to find the best AI talent it can to help grow its stake in the sector. Multiple tech companies continue to eye veteran and newcomers alike from each other, headhunting the best employees they can find.
In August, Meta managed to headhunt top talent from OpenAI, but it also lost a valuable senior researcher—Chaya Nayak, who was with the tech firm for a decade—who crossed sides to join OpenAI.