OpenAI reportedly made exiting employees choose between keeping their vested equity and being able to speak out against the company. According to, which viewed the document in question, employees could “lose all vested equity they earned during their time at the company, which is likely worth millions of dollars” if they didn’t sign a nondisclosure and non-disparagement agreement, thanks to a provision in the off-boarding papers.
on Saturday evening that such a provision did exist, but said “we have never clawed back anyone's vested equity, nor will we do that if people do not sign a separation agreement .”, and Altman said the company “was already in the process of fixing the standard exit paperwork over the past month or so.” But asnotes in its report, at least one former OpenAI employee has spoken publicly about sacrificing equity by declining to sign an NDA upon leaving.
on an online forum that this decision led to the loss of equity likely amounting to “about 85 percent of my family's net worth at least.”we have never clawed back anyone's vested equity, nor will we do that if people do not sign a separation agreement . vested equity is vested equity, full stop.In Altman’s response, the CEO apologized and said he was “embarrassed” after finding out about the provision, which he claims he was previously unaware of.
All of this comes after two more high-profile resignations from OpenAI this week. OpenAI co-founder and Chief Scientist