What top US tech firms pay their employees

At lesser-known unicorns, as startups valued at over $1 billion are known, software engineers commonly bring in around $250,000, Business Insider claimed.

Companies are required to file these figures with the Department of Labor when sponsoring foreign hires under the H-1B visa program, which admits 85,000 specialized workers to the U.S. each year through a lottery.

Since most tech companies keep salary details confidential, these government filings offer a rare glimpse into their compensation structures. The figures reflect only base salaries and do not include bonuses, equity or other benefits that can significantly raise total earnings.

Business Insider compiled the data by reviewing disclosures from leading AI firms valued at over US$2 billion, excluding those in sectors like robotics, defense and autonomous vehicles. The result provides an overview of how much employees at companies such as Cohere, Glean and Thinking Machines Lab are paid, and how those salaries stack up across the industry.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Photo by courtesy of Reuters

According to Reuters, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that Meta has been actively pursuing OpenAI engineers with massive compensation packages.

Speaking on the Uncapped podcast, Altman claimed that Meta had extended offers including US$100 million signing bonuses and even higher annual compensation to several members of his team. These attempts are part of an intensifying battle between Big Tech firms to lay their hands on the limited pool of elite AI talent as they try to stay ahead in the race for superintelligence.

Meta has also recently poured $14.3 billion into data-labeling firm Scale AI and appointed its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to head the company’s newly established superintelligence division.

Recently Google has hired CEO of AI coding startup Windsurf, Varun Mohan, and several key team members in a $2.4 billion deal, CNBC reported.