AI talent war heats up: Why startups and tech giants are offering jaw-dropping salaries to secure top minds?

In a world where artificial intelligence is expected to take over jobs, the irony is hard to miss — companies are now outbidding each other for the very humans powering AI’s evolution. A recent Business Insider report, based on compensation data from J. Thelander Consulting, reveals that firms are offering massive premiums of up to $200,000 for professionals with machine learning skills, especially data scientists and analysts.

Notably, even lower-level software engineers and analysts are cashing in, with bonuses and pay raises rising sharply in companies racing to stay competitive.

Startups Burn Cash in the AI Arms Race
The frenzy isn’t limited to Big Tech. Around 50% of the 153 surveyed companies offering such AI pay premiums had no revenue in the last year. A staggering 71% reported no profit. Still, these startups are offering eye-popping salaries in a desperate bid to attract top AI talent and stand out in an increasingly saturated field.

“These smaller firms know they have to look attractive next to giants like Google, Meta, or OpenAI,” a spokesperson from Thelander Consulting told Business Insider. “And for them, overpaying is the only card they’ve got.”

Meta vs. OpenAI: The Billion-Dollar Tug-of-War
It’s not just small companies playing the game. Meta was recently accused by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman of trying to poach top employees with jaw-dropping $100 million signing bonuses. While Altman claimed none of his best team members left, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth clapped back, stating that Altman failed to mention he was matching those offers; proof that even the richest companies are nervously guarding their brightest minds.
AI Salaries Skyrocket as Startups and Tech Giants Offer Jaw-Dropping Premiums to Poach Top Minds

Here's a list of the researchers Meta hired to form it's new Superintelligence team.

Wang referred here, is Alexander Wang, founder of Scale AI. Meta paid $14 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI. Wang will head the super intelligence team.

The other engineers hired from Open AI… pic.twitter.com/te9RL93thG

— Deepak Agrawal (@deepakmagrawal) July 1, 2025

Is This a Boom… or a Bubble?
The paradox of the AI boom is clear. As fears grow over machines replacing human workers, the people teaching those machines have become the most sought-after, and overpaid, talent in the world. But this arms race begs the question: how long before the bubble bursts?

With many companies yet to see a return on their talent investments and profits nowhere in sight, the market may soon be forced to reckon with the real costs of betting big on the AI dream.

For now, though, AI talent remains the gold standard; and everyone wants a piece.