The cult(ure) of OpenAI

The impact of OpenAI on the world today may be more profound than any other company in history, especially in the time frame they’ve achieved it. With (at time of writing) nearly one billion people using ChatGPT, the company’s flagship product, there’s never been a greater example of user adoption.

I’m equally fascinated by the company itself. In just ten years from their inception in 2015, they’ve reached a valuation of c. $325 billion. That’s impressive in its own right, but more interesting is the fact they’ve done it with a tiny headcount compared to their competitors. As of April 2025, they employ 5,328 people, a huge jump from 770 in 2023 but still far short of similarly valued companies like ByteDance (c. 150,000 people), SpaceX (c. 13,000 employees) and Oracle (c. 159,000 staff). This means a valuation per employee of approximately $61m, which dwarfs even the tech giants Apple ($20m), Meta ($20.6m) and Microsoft ($12.6m). Regardless of how good their product is, that’s incredible organisational efficiency.

Also key to note are the events of November 17th 2023, when OpenAI’s board of directors fired CEO Sam Altman, referencing “a lack of candour in communications and a breakdown in trust” as the key reasons. Shortly after the announcement, over 700 OpenAI employees (i.e. almost all of them at the time) wrote to the board threatening to resign if Altman wasn’t reinstated. Just days later, on November 22nd, he returned to lead the company and partially reconstituted the board. I can’t think of any other companies in which, if the CEO was removed, 90% of the staff would walk out. It points to something unique.

So what is it that makes OpenAI’s culture so special, enabling it to not only develop perhaps the most important product of the last two decades, but to do so with an incredibly lean team devoted to their leader? 

It begins with the Mission and Values of the organisation. Their stated goal, “to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity”, is ambitious, inspiring and clear. It permeates every aspect of the company from hiring to marketing. Tech journalist Karen Hao, on interviewing hundreds of OpenAI insiders, discovered a company with a “quasi-religious” dedication to this mission. Team members include both boomers (those who believe AGI will save humanity) and doomers (who fear uncontrolled AI could destroy us all), and the tension between these outlooks is actively leveraged to ensure all views are considered. 

The company’s charter states four Values: broadly distributed benefits (a commitment to make AGI beneficial to all), long-term safety (with such commitment to this that they will stop competing with others if it makes AGI safer), technical leadership (developing cutting edge capability to enable their mission) and cooperative orientation (creating a global community working together to address AGI’s global challenges). While critics and commentators have expressed concern that OpenAI have moved away from these Values in pursuit of growth and financial resources, it seems that they’re still central to the hiring process through “alignment tests” that all candidates must undergo.

An emphasis on world-class Talent Acquisition has also been central to the story of OpenAI. They’ve been aggressive in pursuing the “best and brightest” the world has to offer, from industry leaders like Stripe and DeepMind and leading academic institutions, focusing on “talent density” rather than sheer numbers. To enable this hiring strategy, OpenAI are exceptionally generous with pay, in terms of both base salary and equity, with estimates suggesting that the average employee’s total compensation package is close to $1m annually. They hire quickly through a fast, rigorous interview process, actively explore unconventional sources of talent (particularly entrepreneurs and self-taught hackers), and would rather leave a role unfilled than make a subpar hire who doesn’t fit the culture. This last point is essential, and much harder to do than it is to say.

Given the 2023 team’s commitment to Sam Altman, it’s clear he’s been the driving force behind much of the company’s success. A great storyteller, Altman is outstanding at fundraising, and was described by Paul Graham, founder of famed accelerator Y Combinator, as a man who “would become king if dropped on an island of cannibals”. Clearly, Altman’s grand vision is a core part of his leadership toolkit, and alongside he’s been able to maintain the intensity of a startup environment through OpenAI’s journey. This suggests a level of trust and autonomous decision-making unusual in a scaling company.

The transparency and communication issues raised by the board during Sam Altman’s brief departure have been echoed in accounts from employees, however, claiming that decision-making can be opaque and communication ill-thought through, with several insiders citing increasing politics as OpenAI has grown. Some of these issues can be argued away as the cost of pace and competitive advantage, but it’s likely that the force of Altman’s personality and the level of attachment team members feel to the mission trump these flaws. After all, leaders don’t have to be perfect, but they must leverage their strengths to mitigate their weaknesses.

Unashamedly, OpenAI’s culture isn’t for the faint of heart. Glassdoor and Reddit commentary speaks of “very, very long hours”, “burnout” and “constant crisis”. For the right people, though, the reward of the work itself and the financial incentives are augmented by the environment. Common themes in employee reviews include phrases like “intense and exhilarating” and “the bleeding edge of research”. It’s been claimed that many people don’t make it past a year with the company, losing their stock options as a result, but LinkedIn’s statistics show an 11% attrition rate. Considering OpenAI’s eye-watering pace of growth, this is very respectable.

There are some clear lessons to be learned from the incredible story of OpenAI. Clarity of mission and vision is where all companies should begin. Make it big and make it exciting. Leadership counts. Whether you agree with Altman’s approach or not, developing your leadership skills, and those of the leaders around, will make a significant difference to your chances of success. Finally, hiring the right people is absolutely critical. Don’t compromise, don’t be cheap and make sure you’re deliberate in targeting the talent you need.

(P.S. If anyone knows, or is, an OpenAI insider, I’d love to hear your thoughts!)

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