Microsoft AI employees reportedly paid more than peers

Microsoft has been pushing for AI in the past few months, from its billions of dollars in investment in OpenAI and other AI startups, the Copilot offerings, to forming the new Microsoft AI organization.

Led by Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder and former AI head at now Google-owned Deepmind & startup Inflection AI, the organization focuses on all things AI-related at Microsoft.

But, leaked data from Business Insider tells a significant salary disparity within Microsoft, revealing that employees in the company’s AI division earn considerably more than their counterparts in other departments.

According to an unofficial spreadsheet shared by Microsoft employees, the average total compensation for those in the AI sector is about $377,611, which is roughly $120,000 higher than other groups such as Azure and Cloud.

“As a reminder, this pay data is based on Microsoft employees’ self-reporting, so it’s not a complete picture. However, the pay gap between Microsoft AI and the rest of the company is undeniable,” the tell-all report reads.

Microsoft’s push for AI has indeed been paying off. The Redmond company’s financial reports in the past few quarters have shown another height thanks to cloud & AI, and it’s expected to do the same in the near future.

Another point is that there isn’t a big pool of AI experts and the industry demand is so big that Microsoft was even accused of “acquihiring” Inflection AI, Suleyman’s former company.

And it’s understandably so, given how profitable it is, but it may create dismay and clashes among other employees due to recent salary freezes and reduced bonuses for the rest of Microsoft’s workforce.