While some are laying off staff, OpenAI plans to hire massively.

While some companies are implementing numerous layoff plans, like Microsoft, others are taking the opposite approach, like OpenAI.

According to the Financial Times, the company led by Sam Altman is considering nearly doubling its workforce by the end of 2026. This strategy reflects the increasingly intense competition in the artificial intelligence sector.

From 4,500 to 8,000 employees

Currently, OpenAI The company would have approximately 4,500 employees, and the goal would then be to reach nearly 8,000 employees by the end of 2026. These recruitments would concern several strategic departments, notably to strengthen its teams in product development, engineering, research, and sales. It should be noted that this momentum comes at a time when the company is experiencing spectacular growth; during its last funding round, OpenAI reached an estimated valuation of $840 billion. This historic $110 billion funding round attracted several major tech players, as well as the SoftBank group.

Such expansion illustrates the scale of investment needed to remain competitive in the global battle for artificial intelligence…

A response to growing competition in AI…

While this remains to be confirmed, this recruitment strategy comes in a context of increasingly fierce rivalry among the leading players in generative AI. OpenAI, in particular, must contend with competition from companies like Anthropic, which employs a different strategy, even at the risk of alienating the US administration.

According to data cited by the Financial Times, companies are now 70% more likely to choose Anthropic than OpenAI when adopting an artificial intelligence solution for the first time.

A signal that could explain the acceleration of human capital investments at the creator of ChatGPT.

For its part, OpenAI also plans to recruit more specialists dedicated to what the company calls its "technical embassy." Their mission is to support companies in integrating and optimizing the artificial intelligence tools developed by the company.

Internally, this competitive pressure has already led to some strong decisions.

At the beginning of December, Sam Altman triggered a "red alert," suspending certain projects deemed secondary in order to focus teams on priority developments, particularly after the launch of Google's Gemini 3 model.

At a time when innovation cycles are accelerating, recruitment appears more than ever as a strategic lever to maintain the pace.

The coming months should tell us whether OpenAI's strategy pays off, or if the company will be forced to rethink its approach…