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OpenAI UK Ltd’s 2025 accounts show 110 London staff sharing £87 million in salaries and £168 million in company shares. Together, that is £255 million, or an average of £2,318,181 per employee. The figure is total reported compensation—not an average cash salary—and is heavily influenced by large equity awards.
What OpenAI’s UK accounts show
The accounts cover the year ended 31 December 2025. Companies House records OpenAI UK Ltd (company number 14367667) as filing its full accounts on 13 October 2026. The Guardian reported the figures on 14 October 2026.
| Measure | Reported figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| London staff | 110 | The employee count used for the average in the accounts coverage |
| Salaries | £87 million | Cash pay reported for the group of employees |
| Company shares | £168 million | Equity value recorded in compensation |
| Combined compensation | £255 million | Salaries plus shares |
| Average per employee | £2,318,181 | £255 million divided by 110 staff |
Is OpenAI paying £2.3m salaries in London?
No. Calling the amount a £2.3 million salary is misleading. The £2.3 million average combines cash salaries with the accounting value of shares. Only £87 million of the £255 million total was salary, while £168 million—about two-thirds of the combined amount—was equity.
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Why the average is so high
A small number of large awards can move the mean
An average divides the total by the number of employees. It does not show what a typical employee received. The report describes a wide gap between the highest and lowest earners and says the largest packages went to AI researchers, but it does not publish a median, a range or individual awards.
That means the £2,318,181 figure could be raised substantially by a relatively small number of very large equity grants. Without a median, it cannot be used to estimate the pay of an ordinary London employee or the likely offer for a new applicant.
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Cash and equity answer different questions
- Cash salary: recurring pay before tax and other deductions.
- Equity value: a reported share-based compensation amount whose realized value and timing may differ from the accounting figure.
- Total compensation: the sum used to calculate the headline average.
How the package compares with UK earnings
The Guardian said the combined package was 58 times median UK full-time employee earnings, using figures from the Office for National Statistics. It also calculated that the combined value equates to roughly £1,000 an hour before tax when spread across a working year. That hourly comparison is a conversion of total compensation, not an hourly wage rate paid under an employment contract.
For a fair comparison with another employer, check whether the figure is cash or equity, mean or median, and whether it covers the same accounting year and employee mix. Equity should also be assessed for vesting and liquidity rather than treated as immediately spendable cash.
How compensation changed from the previous year
The prior year’s average salary-and-equity package was reported as £1.1 million per employee. The 2025 average of £2,318,181 is therefore a little more than double that earlier figure. The change may reflect the size and timing of equity awards; the published report does not provide enough employee-level detail to attribute the increase to a particular group or event.
OpenAI UK’s business results
OpenAI UK Ltd reported £293 million in turnover and £20.3 million in profit for 2025, according to the accounts figures reported by The Guardian. Those results describe the UK company’s revenue and profit; they do not mean that the £255 million compensation total was paid entirely from UK operating profit, nor do they identify how compensation was distributed among roles.
What prospective employees should take from the number
- Do not treat £2.3 million as the standard London salary or a guaranteed offer.
- Ask how an offer divides base salary, bonus and equity.
- Check vesting dates, forfeiture rules and the conditions for selling shares.
- Ask whether quoted equity is an award value, a current valuation or realized proceeds.
- Compare median or role-specific compensation where available, not just a company-wide mean.
What remains unknown
The filing coverage does not disclose a median package, the lowest or highest award, a role-by-role breakdown, individual employees’ compensation, or the liquidity and vesting terms attached to the shares. OpenAI declined to comment on the figures in the reported coverage, and no regulator or named OpenAI representative provided a quotation.
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