OpenAI has given big bonus payouts to around 1,000 employees. This group makes up about one-third of the full-time staff. The announcement came just before the launch of GPT-5.

CEO Sam Altman Announces Surprise Bonus

CEO Sam Altman surprised employees with a message on Slack. He revealed a quarterly bonus program lasting two years. The bonuses target researchers and software engineers in applied engineering, scaling, and safety teams.

Bonus Amounts Depend on Role and Experience

Bonuses vary by role and seniority. Top researchers will receive millions in mid-single digits. Engineers will get bonuses worth hundreds of thousands. The payments will happen every quarter. Employees can choose to receive bonuses in cash, stock, or both.

Market Demand Drives Pay Increase

Altman explained that rising pay reflects market trends. He said, “We have been looking at comp for our technical teams given the movement in the market.” Furthermore, he promised, “We very much intend to keep increasing comp as we keep doing better and better as a company.” He added that the company wants to be transparent about this new approach.

Competition for AI Talent Heats Up

Silicon Valley companies and well-funded startups are competing fiercely for AI experts. They offer bonuses to attract top talent. Recently, OpenAI lost key researchers to Meta. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s xAI also seeks to hire skilled AI professionals. Altman noted that India is OpenAI’s second-largest market after the US. He expects India to become the biggest market soon. GPT-5 is now open to all users. Plus subscribers get more usage. Pro subscribers access GPT-5 Pro, which offers advanced reasoning for deeper, more accurate answers.

How GPT-5 Works

OpenAI described GPT-5 as a unified system. It uses a smart, efficient model to answer most questions. For tougher problems, it switches to a deeper reasoning model called GPT-5 thinking. A real-time router decides which model to use based on conversation type, complexity, tool needs, and user intent.