OpenAI ended 2025 with roughly 7,850 employees and plans to reach 8,000 by the end of 2026, up from 770 in late 2023. Its average employee equity package, $1.5 million in stock, is the largest ever recorded at a private tech startup. This post covers OpenAI’s headcount, pay, department mix, office locations, and hiring data for 2026.
OpenAI Employee Statistics 2026 – TL;DR
OpenAI is the largest independent AI lab by headcount, roughly twice the size of Anthropic. The numbers below answer the common questions about how many people work at OpenAI, what they earn, and where they sit.
- OpenAI employs about 7,850 people as of late 2025 and targets 8,000 by the end of 2026, per the Financial Times.
- Headcount has grown close to tenfold from 770 in November 2023.
- Engineering makes up around 56% of staff.
- Median total compensation is $608,182, with average stock grants of $1.5 million in 2025.
- Revenue per employee passed $3 million in early 2026.
How Many Employees Does OpenAI Have in 2026?
OpenAI does not publish official headcount, so the figures come from workforce-intelligence firms and media reporting. The workforce grew 54.9% in 2025 to reach about 7,850 by year-end, after a 41.5% rise in 2024.
The November 2023 baseline of 770 is well documented. When the board briefly removed Sam Altman that month, 738 of those 770 employees signed an open letter threatening to leave for Microsoft. For scale against another fast-scaling firm, see how X cut its workforce after the 2022 acquisition.
| Period | Employees | Notable context |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ~375 | Pre-ChatGPT |
| November 2023 | 770 | One year after ChatGPT launched |
| September 2024 | ~3,531 | Scaling to hundreds of millions of users |
| End of 2024 | ~4,467 | Year-end estimate |
| December 2025 | ~7,850 | 54.9% year-over-year growth |
| End of 2026 (planned) | 8,000 | Hiring target reported by the FT |
Source: Revelio Labs, Engadget
In January 2026 Altman told staff the company wanted to slow hiring and get more done with fewer people, so the actual year-end figure may land below the 8,000 plan.
OpenAI Employee Statistics by Department
Engineering dominates the org chart. Roughly 56% of OpenAI’s people sit in engineering, with the rest split across commercial, support, and administrative functions.
| Department | Employees | Share of workforce |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering | ~1,480 | ~56% |
| Business Management | 233 | ~9% |
| Marketing & Product | 225 | ~9% |
| Human Resources | 212 | ~8% |
| Finance & Administration | 128 | ~5% |
| Sales & Support | 107 | ~4% |
| Operations | 91 | ~3% |
| IT | 68 | ~3% |
| Legal | 64 | ~2% |
| Other | 51 | ~2% |
Source: Unify
The departmental sample is smaller than the full company headcount because workforce platforms only classify employees with verifiable role data, so these are proportions rather than a full census. A separate breakdown puts research at roughly 25% of staff and broader engineering at roughly 30%.
OpenAI Salary and Compensation Statistics
OpenAI pays at the top of the market, and stock makes up the bulk of it. The Wall Street Journal called its average package the richest in startup history.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Median total compensation (all roles) | $608,182 |
| Software Engineer median total comp | $555,000 |
| Software Engineer range (L2–L6) | $144,275 – $1,276,636 |
| Average stock-based compensation (2025) | $1.5 million |
| Research scientist base salary range | $245,000 – $685,000 |
Source: Levels.fyi, Wall Street Journal, federal H-1B filings
OpenAI’s roughly 4,000 core employees received stock-based compensation averaging $1.5 million each in 2025, about seven times what Google employees averaged before its IPO when adjusted for inflation. That equity bill runs near 46% of annual revenue. For how that compares with other large employers, see the Google workforce and pay breakdown.
Where Are OpenAI Employees Located?
OpenAI stays heavily concentrated in San Francisco even as it builds out hubs across the U.S. and abroad. The Bay Area holds roughly 1,767 employees in this sample.
| Location | Employees |
|---|---|
| San Francisco | ~1,767 |
| Other / remote | ~300 |
| New York | 244 |
| Seattle | 108 |
| London | 92 |
| Los Angeles | 42 |
Source: Unify
London is the largest non-U.S. office in the sample, anchoring European research and outreach. Smaller clusters sit in Austin, Washington DC, Dublin, and Singapore. The dense headquarters runs against the distributed model many post-2020 startups adopted, a pattern tracked across the future of work data.
OpenAI Hiring and Retention Statistics
Demand to work at OpenAI is intense, and so is the pressure to keep people from leaving for Meta, Anthropic, and Google. Active job postings reached 736 in 2025, up 112.2% from 2024.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Active job postings (2025) | 736 |
| YoY growth in job postings (2025) | 112.2% |
| Retention-bonus recipients (Aug 2025) | ~1,000 |
| Retention-bonus range | $300,000 – $1.5 million |
| New H-1B hires (Oct–Dec 2025) | 60+ |
Source: Revelio Labs, AInvest, Entrepreneur
In August 2025 OpenAI launched a retention-bonus program covering nearly 1,000 employees, with payouts from $300,000 to $1.5 million to counter poaching ahead of major launches. A new $100,000 federal H-1B application fee in late 2025 did not slow it; the company onboarded more than 60 H-1B workers between October and December. More hiring context sits in the workforce statistics archive.
Revenue Per Employee at OpenAI
Headcount growth has tracked revenue growth, and the per-employee economics are striking even by big-tech standards. Annualized revenue climbed from $6 billion in 2024 to $20 billion at the end of 2025, then to roughly $25 billion by February 2026, figures confirmed in part by CFO Sarah Friar.
| Year | Annualized revenue | Approx. headcount | Revenue per employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $6 billion | ~4,467 | ~$1.3 million |
| 2025 | $20 billion | ~7,850 | ~$2.5 million |
| Feb 2026 | $25 billion | ~7,850+ | ~$3.2 million |
Source: Sacra, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar
Revenue per employee rose from about $1.3 million in 2024 to north of $3 million in early 2026, which helps explain how the company sustains seven-figure pay. The run-rate sat alongside an $852 billion valuation from OpenAI’s March 2026 funding round. Tools for this kind of analysis live in the online tools collection.
OpenAI Workforce Diversity Statistics
Gender representation, especially in technical roles, remains a documented weak spot. OpenAI’s 2024 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion report disclosed that only 16% of technical roles were held by women.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Women in technical roles (2024 DEI report) | 16% |
| Staff identifying as women or non-binary (2025) | ~44% |
| Female board members (of 8) | 2 |
Source: OpenAI 2024 DEI report, ElectroIQ, Women in Tech Network
Across the full company in 2025, about 44% of staff identified as women or non-binary, a wider measure that includes non-technical functions. In 2025 OpenAI named Fidji Simo as CEO of Applications. The gap between overall representation and technical-role representation is the part most observers point to. Related reading sits in the work and productivity section.
FAQ
How many employees does OpenAI have in 2026?
OpenAI has roughly 7,850 employees as of late 2025 and plans to reach 8,000 by the end of 2026. The company does not publish official figures, so estimates range from about 7,000 to 7,850.
How much do OpenAI employees earn?
Median total compensation is $608,182 across all roles. Software engineers earn a $555,000 median. On top of cash, employees received stock-based compensation averaging $1.5 million each in 2025.
What is OpenAI’s revenue per employee?
Revenue per employee reached about $3.2 million in February 2026, up from $1.3 million in 2024. The rise tracks annualized revenue climbing from $6 billion to roughly $25 billion.
Which department is largest at OpenAI?
Engineering is the largest department at about 1,480 people, close to 56% of classified staff. Business Management (233) and Marketing & Product (225) follow.
Where are most OpenAI employees based?
San Francisco holds roughly 1,767 employees, the largest cluster. New York (244), Seattle (108), London (92), and Los Angeles (42) form the next tier, with about 300 in remote or satellite roles.
Sources:
https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-reportedly-plans-to-double-its-workforce-to-8000-employees-161028377.html
https://www.unifygtm.com/insights-headcount/openai
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/new-report-shows-openai-offers-historic-pay-packages-amid-ai-talent-war-4426539
https://sacra.com/c/openai/
