Ask HN: How much equity should an early employee get at a Gen AI startup?

#1

Post by notfound404 » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 7:16 PM UTC

Hello HN,

I'm a recent PhD graduate specializing in NLP and LLMs. I've been approached by a Gen AI startup and offered a researcher position with 0.3% equity, vesting over 4 years.

The startup is in its early stages, with around 20-30 employees, but their product is already profitable and the company is valued in the $30–60 million range. The salary they’re offering is slightly below the average for machine learning engineers in San Francisco, but it might seem reasonable for a startup.

I'm trying to figure out if 0.3% equity is a reasonable offer for a newly graduated PhD researcher like myself. I'm not sure how to evaluate this, especially since some of my peers have received offers from big companies with packages around $300K in salary and $800K in RSUs.

I'd appreciate any insights into what other early-stage employees at similar startups have been offered. What kind of equity are people typically offered in similar situations? Specific examples would be really helpful. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: How much equity should an early employee get at a Gen AI startup?

#2

Post by pltvss » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 7:18 PM UTC

I would say it's very good and reasonable, and actually considering evaluation and company size I'd say it's actually quite a lot. For comparison I got 1% when I joined as employee number 4 and first engineer (company name: Solsten).

Re: Ask HN: How much equity should an early employee get at a Gen AI startup?

#3

Post by jdale27 » Wed, Oct 02, 2024, 8:26 PM UTC

0.3% is very good for a company that already has 20-30 employees, especially for a recent grad (even PhD level).

That said, with startups it is always wise to assume your equity will be worth nothing. You can’t compare the compensation on equal terms with big tech RSU packages. It’s really about whether you will like the work and the startup environment better.