OpenAI scraps vesting cliff in latest escalation of AI talent war

Summary

The Times of India reports that OpenAI has eliminated its equity vesting cliff, so newly hired employees now start vesting stock compensation from day one instead of waiting six months. Citing a Wall Street Journal report, the piece notes that OpenAI expects to spend around $6 billion on stock‑based compensation this year—nearly half of projected revenue—reflecting how aggressively top AI labs are paying to attract and retain scarce research talent. Executives framed the move as empowering new hires to take risks without fearing they’ll lose unvested equity if they are cut early, and the article points out that Elon Musk’s xAI has already mirrored the shift by dropping its own vesting cliff. The story argues that traditional Silicon Valley compensation norms are being rapidly rewritten as Meta, OpenAI, xAI and others dangle packages that can exceed $100 million for elite researchers, raising questions about long‑term sustainability even as competitive pressure leaves little room to pull back.