OPEN AI Is Big Tech's Entrepreneur Exodus
Together with LeadGenius we analyzed the backgrounds of 736 OpenAI’s current employees to determine where they came from.
Here’s what we learned and what we think it means:
OpenAI is a product of Big Tech’s Entrepreneur Exodus - Almost all of OpenAI’s talent are expats from big tech powerhouses. 59 OpenAI employees came from Google, followed by Meta with 34, Apple with 15, Dropbox with 14, and Amazon with 11.
Not surprising: 389 of the 736 OPEN AI employees analyzed by Lead Genius came from tech hardware and software companies.
Somewhat surprising: 39 of the employees analyzed came from financial services led by JP Morgan (7 expats), Robinhood (5), and UBS (3).
What this means:
OpenAI is winning the war for tech talent. This research by LeadGenius should serve as a talent wake up call for Big Tech - If nothing else OpenAI is a sign that Big Tech, especially Google, isn’t optimizing its investments in its employees. A lot of the talent we analyzed worked on secondary products in innovation labs like Alphabet X. For many this means that they rarely see their work have a meaningful impact on the company's core products or earnings. This pool of talent is migrating to OPEN AI, proving that they’re open to new options.
"Finance Should be Nervous." 39 OPEN AI employees come from financial services. This is larger than we would expect. Is this a sign that OPEN AI might challenge financial services? "It’s too early to say, but they are certainly providing a viable option to Wall Street talent looking for new options" says Lisa Wardlaw, President and Founder of 360 Digital Immersion, and former #CFO, Munich Re
“A leadership team with a track record of building value - not just valuations." This is a team that has a track record of creating real value and not just gigantic valuations. There’s a strong track record of building useful, pragmatic, high revenue growth. "It’s not a surprise that it’s the first mass adoption of what used to be a niche technology.” says Nyla Beth Gawel, Former Head of Corporate Strategy, SAIC, and Verizon Public Sector
“The boardroom startup - not the dorm room startup - OPEN AI is an example of how startups are evolving. The team is largely composed of people who spent a lot of time in large tech companies who have now left. This is a stark difference from when Mark Zuckerberg was building Facebook from his Harvard dorm room." says Rick Kreifeldt, #CTO, Sorenson Communications
Rick, Nyla Beth, and Lisa are members of Punks & Pinstripes, an exclusive community of the 100 most badass executives in the world.
Published by
CEO of Punks & Pinstripes⏐Keynote Speaker⏐Fortune 500 Executive⏐Mistake Maker⏐Punk Enthusiast⏐Recovering Wall Street Analyst⏐Dad
