Anthropic, referred to as the 'counterpart to OpenAI,' is reportedly leading in the competition for artificial intelligence (AI) talent, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on the 7th. While corporations such as Facebook's parent company Meta, Google, Microsoft (MS), and OpenAI are fiercely competing for talent by offering high salaries, it turns out that the AI corporations most preferred by AI developers (engineers) and researchers is Anthropic.
Anthropic is an AI startup founded by former OpenAI researchers, known for its AI model 'Claude.' The company's value is projected to reach $170 billion (approximately 236.13 trillion won) if its ongoing fundraising efforts are successful.
According to a survey by the venture capital firm SignalFire, Anthropic's engineer turnover rate over the past year was 37.3%. This means that 3 to 4 out of every 10 engineers who were hired leave due to job changes.
This is significantly lower than OpenAI's 45.8%, Meta's 48.3%, and Google's 85.4%, with SignalFire assessing that Anthropic's talent retention stands out in Silicon Valley.
Currently, the competition for AI talent in Silicon Valley has reached a peak. Meta has recently established a 'superintelligence lab' to develop AI that surpasses human intelligence, offering a massive salary package exceeding $100 million to attract AI talent from competitors. Over 10 researchers have been recruited from OpenAI alone.
However, Meta managed to recruit only 2 AI talents from Anthropic, and both had originally worked at Meta before moving to Anthropic.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, recently appeared on a podcast, stating, 'I will not offer high salaries to follow Meta.'
He noted, 'Some employees rejected Meta's offer, saying, "I won't even talk to Zuckerberg."' He emphasized that 'what they want cannot be bought with money,' adding, 'This is about employees deeply resonating with the company's mission.'
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic focuses on AI development with an emphasis on safety and ethical use.
Heather Doshey, a partner at SignalFire, said, 'This unique mission and corporate culture are very appealing to AI talents.' He added, 'When I talk with many applicants and ask them, "Which corporation do you want to work for the most?" Anthropic comes up as the most mentioned name.'
Anthropic also emphasized that its commitment to AI safety, research caliber, and top-tier researchers are key factors in attracting talent.
Michael Shamos, a professor responsible for the AI and Innovation Master's program at Carnegie Mellon University, said, 'Salary is important, but unless compensation differences are enormous, mission and organizational culture become more important criteria for decision-making.'
However, he noted, 'This trend can change depending on which model is gaining the most attention.' He added, 'Right now, Claude is the most popular large language model (LLM), which is why people want to work at Anthropic,' suggesting that 'If GPT-5 is released, they might head back to OpenAI.'