In August, Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against Sam Altman's OpenAI, accusing the ChatGPT developer of using "extravagant" compensation packages to attract talent and crush competitors.

Business Insider analyzed salary data from OpenAI and xAI's special visa applications in 2024. The common thread is that both companies paid above-average salaries, reflecting the costly competition for AI talent.

According to Pitchbook, xAI is hiring around 100 people, while OpenAI is hiring around 3,000.

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Recruiting the best AI talent is a top priority for both xAI and OpenAI. (Image: Plus500)

Data from 10 xAI employees and 86 OpenAI employees shows that they are paid 37% and 87% more, respectively, than the typical or current salaries for similar positions in the industry.

Current wages are determined by the Ministry of Labour and represent the average wages paid to workers in a specific occupation and within a defined geographic area.

When hiring workers on special visas such as the H-1B, employers must pay them at least the prevailing wage rate.

Data from filings submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that 10 xAI employees were paid between $250,000 and $500,000. One machine learning engineer received nearly double their current salary.

For OpenAI, the company pays between $145,000 and $530,000 to H-1B workers, including one who was paid three times their current wage.

Elon Musk and Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015. However, he resigned from OpenAI three years later citing potential conflicts of interest.

Since then, he has consistently attacked Altman and OpenAI. Musk also filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, but withdrew it earlier this year and filed a new lawsuit in August.

In addition to alleging that OpenAI is anti-competitive, Musk's lawyers say their client was "deceived" and "manipulated" into co-founding the startup.

Conversely, OpenAI countered in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit that Musk was only trying to harass OpenAI for his own benefit.

Emails between Musk, Altman, and other OpenAI employees from 2015 to 2016 show that Musk repeatedly emphasized the importance of recruiting the best AI talent.

In the email exchanges, the Tesla CEO wrote that hiring should be OpenAI's "most important consideration" and that the company should do "whatever is necessary to bring in its ace candidates."

Based on LinkedIn profiles, xAI has hired at least nine former OpenAI employees, including co-founder Igor Babuschkin, since Musk introduced the startup in 2023.

(According to Insider)