Software industry executives jump ship to OpenAI

Software giants are experiencing their worst stock performance in years amid fears of AI disruption. Now they have a new problem.

According to sources, many senior software executives have been poached by AI giants looking for talent with sales and go-to-market experience.

Administrators sales force, SnowflakeAnd Datadog According to multiple sources, he was recently lured by OpenAI and Anthropic with large compensation packages and the opportunity to bring existing corporate relationships to these AI companies.

Salesforce and OpenAI declined to comment. CNBC has reached out to Snowflake and Datadog for comment.

One of the most notable software hires from OpenAI Denise Dresser. Dresser is currently chief revenue officer and previously served as CEO of Slack, the communications platform within Salesforce. Jennifer Majlessi also joined Salesforce last month and served as head of market entry at OpenAI, according to LinkedIn. Anthropic also hired from Salesforce, according to a source with knowledge of the hires.

Competing for talent is not new in AI. Elite researchers have been at the forefront of the so-called “war for talent” in artificial intelligence; They received salaries worth millions of dollars and bonuses worth tens of millions of dollars.

But the new frontier in the war for talent points to the changing priorities of artificial intelligence giants. The enterprise segment has become an increasingly important growth area for OpenAI; a much more profitable and “sticky” part of the business. Executives from Salesforce, Snowflake and others bring a deep foundation of corporate relationships to help grow this segment.

As of January, enterprise customers made up about 40% of OpenAI’s business. But CFO Sarah Friar recently said the company is on track to increase that to 50% by the end of the year. OpenAI announced in November that: 1 million Commercial customers around the world use the company’s technology.

For software companies, this is the latest wind in artificial intelligence.

The industry has already been hammered this year by concerns that AI tools from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI will upend the dominant cloud subscription model. The iShares Extended Technology Software ETF (IGV), which tracks the sector, is down nearly 20% this year.

Some employees are also trying to avoid layoffs. Earlier this month, CNBC confirmed: Seer Artificial intelligence was laying off thousands of employees as cloud computing doubled in size. Meta And Microsoft They also announced plans to reduce their workforce, with Meta reinvesting in AI.

Structural change in the technology workforce is prompting IT professionals to consider where they can add value and take advantage of the latest technology trend as more companies invest money in AI.

Sales manager Majlessi sent He said on LinkedIn that he left Salesforce to join OpenAI. “What makes this opportunity particularly meaningful is my genuine belief in the product. I have seen how useful this technology can be in both business and life,” Majlessi said. he wrote.

OpenAI is also poaching forward-deployed engineers, two sources share Palantir Technologies in recent months.

Forward-appointed engineers are recognized by the industry as top professionals with the ability to help customers implement significant changes to their business in place using a variety of software capabilities. CNBC has reached out to Palantir for comment.

While traditional tech executives have deep relationships, sources at AI companies say it’s not always a cultural fit. Some don’t have the drive to work the long hours demanded by fast-growing AI companies, one executive said.

— CNBC’s Noah Broder contributed to this report