New Levels.fyi analyses show how equity grants at frontier tech companies have turned into life-changing sums.
Read more Apple may have finally fixed its most embarrassing software
A SpaceX Software Engineer II offer from August 2022 included a $155,000 salary and a $365,000 equity grant that vested over five years. At SpaceX’s IPO valuation, that grant is estimated to be worth more than $4 million, assuming it was held.
At Anthropic, engineers who joined in 2023 may now be sitting on equity worth tens of millions of dollars after the AI company’s valuation surge.
OpenAI shows a similar pattern, with some 2022 and 2023 equity grants to engineers now valued at over $50 million.
Read more Elon Musk is the world’s first trillionaire. Here’s how he built his net worth.
These are not guaranteed windfalls: variables such as vesting, dilution, and lockups mean employees may end up with less. And don’t forget those huge tax bills.
Still, these estimates give a real taste of the wealth that Silicon Valley has created — and spread among workers.
Sign up for BI’s Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at [email protected].
Read more Replika founder predicts ‘crazy protests’ over AI: ‘People are really struggling to find jobs’
About the Author
