OpenAI employees who departed the company without signing a non-disparagement agreement risked losing vested equity if they did not comply with the policy, according to CEO Sam Altman. The departure of key employees Sutskever and Leike raised questions about the company’s internal dynamics. Sutskever, a board member, left following reports of a dispute with Altman. Leike, on the other hand, cited concerns about the prioritization of product development over safety processes as the reason for leaving.
Reports on OpenAI’s compensation structure revealed that employees received a base salary of $300,000 along with yearly grants of around $500,000 in profit participation units (PPUs) as part of equity compensation. Despite requests for comment from Business Insider, OpenAI did not provide a response.
