Mira Murati's startup is dangling $500,000 salaries to win the AI arms race

Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer of OpenAI, is making waves with her new AI venture, Thinking Machines Lab (TML). Launched earlier this year, the startup is aggressively pursuing high-caliber technical talent, offering salaries that are turning heads in the industry. Recent hiring data reveals that TML has positioned itself at the forefront of the AI talent race, with two employees earning $450,000 and another receiving an impressive $500,000 annually. Additionally, a co-founder who specializes in machine learning is also drawing a salary of $450,000. This information comes from federal filings related to H-1B visa applications, which require companies to disclose salaries for non-US hires, providing a rare glimpse into the competitive compensation landscape. While these figures reflect base salaries, they do not account for substantial bonuses and equity that often accompany startup compensation packages. A representative from TML chose not to comment on the findings, and inquiries to OpenAI and Anthropic went unanswered. The salary data originates from the first quarter of this year, prior to TML securing $2 billion in seed funding, which valued the company at $10 billion. This funding follows a trend of major tech firms, including Meta, intensifying their efforts to attract AI talent, highlighted by Meta's recent $14.3 billion acquisition deal for a stake in Scale, led by CEO Alexandr Wang. OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman recently noted that Meta is reportedly offering signing bonuses that can reach as high as $100 million. Comparatively, the average salary offered by TML, at $462,500 for four technical roles, significantly surpasses those of more established competitors. OpenAI's average compensation for its 29 technical staff is $292,115, while Anthropic offers an average of $387,500 to its 14 technical hires. TML has been on a hiring spree, bringing on board notable figures from the AI field, including Bob McGrew, Alec Radford, and John Schulman, among others. However, the company has recently paused new applications, as indicated on its website. Murati, who spent over six years at OpenAI and played a crucial role in developing ChatGPT, briefly held the position of interim CEO in November 2023 during a tumultuous time for the company. She has since returned to her role as CTO following the reinstatement of Sam Altman as CEO.