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Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
Internal Microsoft pay guidelines reveal salary, hiring bonus, and stock award ranges by level
Microsoft pay guidelines obtained by Business Insider reveal how much the software giant generally will pay technical talent, shedding light on an opaque hiring process. The documents, last updated in May, do come with a carve-out: In competitive situations, recruiters can seek approval for higher offers for exceptional candidates. That's a key caveat considering big tech companies are in an all-out battle for AI talent, with some offering staggering pay packages to engineers and researchers. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Meta is offering engineers $100 million signing bonuses. Meta also reportedly poached a former top Apple AI engineer with a pay package worth more than $200 million. Microsoft has a level system to denote seniority. Levels 57 to 59 are generally considered entry-level engineers, while senior engineers begin at level 63, and principal-level engineers begin at level 65. The higher levels are more rare. Partners start at level 68 while distinguished engineers are at level 70. According to the documents, Level 70 candidates can earn a yearly salary of as much as $408,000, depending on location. Their compensation would also include a one-time stock award upon hiring of as much as $1.9 million and could include an additional signing bonus, though a range isn't specified. Their future compensation would include an annual stock award worth as much as $1,476,000, according to the documents. Microsoft has different salary ranges for different locations. For example, there's a "main" pay range for workers at the company's Redmond, Washington, headquarters, along with a "high" pay range for workers in higher cost-of-living areas such as San Francisco. Most of Microsoft's hiring happens in these locations, according to a person familiar with the hiring process. The packages outlined in these documents include ranges for salaries, on-hire stock awards, signing bonuses, annual stock awards, and percentages for annual bonuses based on levels. Microsoft declined to comment. Level 57 "High" salary range: $95,800 to $124,600 "Main" salary range: $83,000 to $108,000 On-hire stock award: $5,000 to $13,000 Annual stock award: "By career stage" Signing bonus: $0 to $9,000 Annual bonus: "NA" Level 58 "Main" salary range: $94,100 to 122,300 "High" salary range: $105,900 to $137,700 On-hire stock award: $6,000 to $20,000 Annual stock award: "By career stage" Signing bonus: $0 to $18,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 20% Level 59 "Main" salary range: $101,400 to $152,000 "High" salary range: $109,000 to $163,600 On-hire stock award: $15,000 to $120,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $20,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $18,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 20% Level 60 "Main" salary range: $110,200 to $165,200 "High" salary range: $120,200 to $180,400 On-hire stock award: $20,000 to $130,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $24,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $27,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 20% Level 61 "Main" salary range: $123,200 to $184,800 "High" salary range: $131,400 to $197,000 On-hire stock award: $30,000 to $150,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $36,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $36,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 20% Level 62 "Main" salary range: $132,600 to $199,000 "High" salary range: $143,600 to $215,400 On-hire stock award: $40,000 to $170,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $44,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $45,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 20% Level 63 "Main" salary range: $145,000 to $218,400 "High" salary range: $158,400 to $237,600 On-hire stock award: $55,000 to $220,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $64,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $45,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 30% Level 64 "Main" salary range: $156,500 to $234,700 "High" salary range: $172,000 to $258,000 On-hire stock award: $70,000 to $270,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $80,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $54,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 30% Level 65 "Main" salary range: $172,800 to $259,200 "High" salary range: $188,000 to $282,000 On-hire stock award: $100,000 to $320,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $130,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $90,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 40% Level 66 "Main" salary range: $183,200 to 274,800 "High" salary range: $202,800 to $304,200 On-hire stock award: $180,000 to $640,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $200,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $126,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 40% Level 67 "Main" salary range: $197,800 to $296,400 "High" salary range: $220,800 to $331,200 On-hire stock award: $380,000 to $850,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $420,000 Signing bonus: $0 to $180,000 Annual bonus: 0 to 60% Level 68 "Main" salary range: $212,800 to $319,200 "High" salary range: $236,000 to $354,000 On-hire stock award: $500,000 to $1,150,000 Annual stock award: $0 to $754,000 Signing bonus: Not listed Annual bonus: 0 to 90% Level 69 "Main" salary range: $225,600 to $338,400 "High" salary range: $247,000 to $370,800 On-hire stock award: $657,000 to $1.35 million Annual stock award: $0 to $1,150,000 Signing bonus: Not listed Annual bonus: 0 to 90% Level 70 "Main" salary range: $252,000 to $378,000 "High" salary range: $272,000 to $408,000 On-hire stock award: $827,001 to $1.9 million Annual stock award: $0 to $1,476,000 Signing bonus: Not listed Annual bonus: 0 to 90%
CNET
18 hours ago
- CNET
ChatGPT Study Mode Aims to Circumvent the Brain Atrophy Problem With AI in Education
ChatGPT Study Mode is a new function within the artificial intelligence chatbot that aims to give students a more natural learning experience rather than simply answering questions for them, the company announced Tuesday. Whereas typing in a question or topic into ChatGPT returns a textbook-style summary, Study Mode works with students, step by step, to help them come to the correct answer on their own. Students can chat with ChatGPT to gain better clarification on things they don't understand, as though they were working with a tutor. Study Mode will be available for free for Plus, Pro and Team users and will launch for ChatGPT Edu in the next few weeks. Study Mode won't simply respond like an answer engine. Even if a student gets frustrated and wants ChatGPT to just spit out the correct answer, it'll refuse. Instead, it'll try to continue working with students to help them get to the correct conclusion. For faculty and parents, there aren't admin controls at the moment, meaning students can switch back to standard ChatGPT if they really want that straight answer. OpenAI, however, is looking to increase admin controls in the future. With the release of ChatGPT in late 2023, the academic world was hit almost immediately. Suddenly, students had a word calculator trained on massive amounts of data, with the ability to spit out essays in seconds. The temptation to get immediate answers from ChatGPT has proven to be tempting for students and has made AI plagiarism a problem in classrooms and on college campuses. Teachers are complaining that students are deferring the hard work of thinking and problem-solving to AI. Teachers are also complaining that AI is hindering students' abilities to think critically. Experts say that critical thinking is highly important for childhood development. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on the Theo Von Podcast last week that with the advancement of AI models, education will need to change entirely. Because AI models will one day become smarter than humans in processing information, teaching needs to evolve with this new tool being widely used in society. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Los Angeles Times
18 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Microsoft's access to OpenAI tech is the focus of contract talks
Microsoft Corp. is in advanced talks to land a deal that could give it ongoing access to critical OpenAI technology, an agreement that would remove a major obstacle to the startup's efforts to become a for-profit enterprise. The companies have discussed new terms that would let Microsoft use OpenAI's latest models and other technology even if the startup decides it has reached its goal of building a more powerful form of AI known as artificial general intelligence (AGI), according to two people familiar with the negotiations. Under the current contract, OpenAI attaining AGI is seen as a major milestone at which point Microsoft would lose some rights to OpenAI technology. Negotiators have been meeting regularly, and an agreement could come together in a matter of weeks, according to three people with knowledge of the situation, who requested anonymity to discuss a private matter. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Satya Nadella, his Microsoft counterpart, discussed the restructuring at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, earlier this month, two of the people said. While the tone of the talks has been positive, some of the people cautioned that the deal isn't finalized and could hit new roadblocks. Moreover, OpenAI's restructuring plans face other complications, including regulatory scrutiny and a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk, an early backer who split with the company and accused the startup of defrauding investors about its commitment to its charitable mission. (OpenAI has pushed back at Musk's claims and said the billionaire is trying to slow down the company.) Negotiations over OpenAI's future as a profit-company have dragged on for months. Microsoft, which backed OpenAI with some $13.75 billion and has the right to use its intellectual property, is the biggest holdout among the ChatGPT maker's investors, Bloomberg previously reported. At issue is the size of Microsoft's stake in the newly configured company. The talks have since broadened into a renegotiation of their relationship, with the software maker seeking to avoid suddenly losing access to the startup's technology before the end of the current deal, which expires in 2030. Microsoft and OpenAI declined to comment. The partnership between the two companies helped inaugurate the AI age. Microsoft built the supercomputer that OpenAI used to develop the language models behind ChatGPT and, in exchange, won the right to bake the technology into its software offerings. The relationship began to fray when the OpenAI board fired (and then rehired) Altman in November 2023, an episode that shook Microsoft's faith in its partner. The rift only widened when the two companies began competing for the same customers — consumers who use their chatbots at home and corporations that have deployed the AI assistants to boost office productivity. Even as executives publicly touted their close ties, OpenAI sought to loosen its dependance on Microsoft, winning permission to build data centers and other AI infrastructure with rival companies. OpenAI is eager to alter its complicated nonprofit structure, in part to secure additional funding to keep building data centers to power its next-generation AI models. SoftBank Group Corp., which has said it would back OpenAI with tens of billions of dollars, has the option to reduce that outlay if OpenAI's restructuring isn't completed by the end of the year. OpenAI wants a larger slice of the revenue currently shared with Microsoft, and has sought adjustments to Microsoft's access to its intellectual property, two of the people said. Microsoft is looking for continued access to OpenAI technology after the current contract expires in 2030. There are range of concerns for OpenAI. The startup wants to ensure its business is well-positioned with whatever share of revenue and equity Microsoft receives in part to guarantee its nonprofit will be well-resourced with a significant stake in OpenAI, one person said. OpenAI also wants the ability to offer customers distinct products built on top of its models even if Microsoft has access to the same technology, the person said. And OpenAI wants to be able to find a way to provide its services to more customers, including government providers, not all of which are on Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform, the person said. At the same time, OpenAI seeks to guarantee that Microsoft adheres to strict safety standards when deploying OpenAI's technology, especially as it gets closer to AGI, the person said. Reaching agreement on what happens once OpenAI achieves artificial general intelligence has been particularly thorny. It's not clear why the language is in the contract, but it gives OpenAI a built-in way to strike out on its own just as its technology matures. The startup publicly defines AGI as 'highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work.' The existing contract has separate clauses related to that threshold, which can be triggered by technical or business milestones, according to two people familiar with the matter. OpenAI's board has the right to determine when the company has reached AGI on a technical level. Under that scenario, Microsoft would lose access to technology developed beyond that point, one of the people said. The business milestone would arrive once OpenAI has demonstrated it can reach around $100 billion in total profits for investors including Microsoft — giving it the wherewithal to repay the return Microsoft is entitled to under the existing contract, one person said. In that scenario, Microsoft would lose its rights to OpenAI technology, including products developed before that trigger, another person said. Microsoft has the right to weigh in on the business milestone, but if the two companies end up at odds over the claim, they could wind up in court, two people said. Another provision in the current contract bars Microsoft from pursuing AGI technology itself, some of the people said. Microsoft, for its part, has demonstrated some flexibility in revised contract terms. The company agreed to waive some intellectual property rights related to OpenAI's $6.5 billion acquisition of io, the startup co-founded by iPhone designer Jony Ive, two of the people said. The software giant was less accomodating over OpenAI's proposed acquisition of AI coding startup Windsurf, the people said. That deal fell apart earlier this month, in part because of the tension with Microsoft, Bloomberg reported. Windsurf, which sells coding tools that compete with Microsoft's products, didn't want the tech giant to have access to its intellectual property — a condition that OpenAI was unsuccessful in getting Microsoft's agreement on, people familiar said. Ultimately, Windsurf's co-founders and a small group of staffers agreed to join Alphabet Inc.'s Google in a $2.4 billion deal. In recent weeks, the companies have been negotiating Microsoft's ownership in a restructured OpenAI — with the two sides discussing an equity stake for Microsoft in the low- to mid-30% range, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Financial Times previously reported on the stake talks. But if Microsoft deems the stake and other changes to the contract insufficient, the company is willing to abandon the talks and stick with the current contract terms, another person said. Day , Ghaffary, Bass and Ford write for Bloomberg.
