AI’s dominance in venture capital has been nothing short of remarkable. In Q1 2023, AI accounted for 21.05% of global VC funding. By Q1 2026, that figure had surged to 80.61%, meaning that for every dollar deployed by venture capitalists globally, roughly 80 cents is flowing into AI.
It stands to reason that, if capital flow concentrates towards a technology, those who build that technology will also be in high demand. `1The result is a talent market where AI roles command significantly higher equity than their non-AI counterparts.
In this article, we will contrast the equity compensation trends in AI roles versus non-AI roles to help employers leverage equity in hiring plans in a cost-efficient manner.
Equity Compensation for AI Roles: A New Benchmark
The scale of equity being offered for AI talent has reached levels that would have seemed extraordinary just a few years ago. With capital plentiful and competition intense, AI startups are offering generous equity packages to attract experienced professionals.
Early senior hires at AI startups can expect sign-on equity that may exceed 0.5% to 2% of the company. Vesting structures have also evolved, with many AI employers offering no cliff vesting and shorter vest cycles to sweeten the deal. Performance-based equity refreshers and access to secondary liquidity opportunities have become increasingly common tools in the recruiting arsenal.
Total compensation figures for AI roles reinforce just how significant this shift has been.
Compensation for AI roles in the US
| Role | Compensation range |
|---|---|
| Machine Learning Engineer | $180,000 to $350,000 or more |
| Senior AI Scientists | $300,000 to $600,000 or more |
| LLM and Generative AI Engineers | $400,000 to $900,000 or more |
| Heads of AI or VPs of AI | $700,000 to $2 million or more |
These figures represent market ranges, not outliers. The most extreme offers, made by companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and Meta, surpass these ranges comfortably.
For instance, according to Forbes, OpenAI’s average stock compensation reached $1.5 million per employee across a workforce of 4,000 in 2025. The concentration of AI funding has given these companies both the capital and the incentive to set a new compensation benchmark.
For employers in non-AI verticals, this creates a challenging but navigable landscape. Understanding where equity grant norms stand for non-AI roles is the first step toward designing a competitive compensation strategy.
Equity Grant Sizes for Non-AI Roles by Stage
For non-AI roles, equity grants are primarily determined by funding stage, seniority, and whether the hire is among the first in their function. The ranges below reflect current market norms across the most common startup roles.
At the seed stage, the highest equity grants go to C-suite and VP-level hires, where ranges of 1% to 3% are typical. The upper bound is generally reserved for CTOs and VP Engineering hires at the pre-product stage.Directors building out teams can expect between 0.5% and 1.5%. Senior engineers, particularly those among the first to the third engineering hires, typically receive between 0.25% and 1%. Mid-level engineers generally fall in the 0.1% to 0.5% range, while junior engineers receive between 0.05% and 0.2%.
Product managers at the seed stage can expect between 0.2% and 0.75%, with the upper range reserved for first PM hires. Designers receive between 0.15% and 0.5%. Sales professionals typically receive between 0.1% and 0.5% of equity, in addition to commission-based compensation. Marketing hires fall in the 0.1% to 0.4% range, with higher grants for VP or Head of Marketing positions. Operations roles typically receive between 0.05% and 0.25%. Equity grants compress significantly as companies mature.
At Series A, senior engineers receive between 0.1% and 0.3%, while VP Engineering grants range from 0.5% to 1.5%. Product managers at this stage fall in the 0.1% to 0.3% range. By Series B, the same roles command percentages that may appear modest: senior engineers receive between 0.03% and 0.1%, VP Engineering between 0.25% and 0.75%, and product managers between 0.03% and 0.1%.
The percentages shrink, but the underlying economic value does not necessarily follow. A 0.05% grant at a $500 million valuation represents $250,000, which means anchoring compensation conversions to dollar value rather than percentage becomes essential at growth stages, particularly when competing against AI companies.
Eqvista – Empowering Employers to Compete with Confidence!
The significant funding gap makes it nearly impossible for non-AI companies to match the cash component of compensation packages. Based on the trends outlined above, non-AI employers can build an equity compensation strategy that effectively attracts talent for AI and non-AI roles. However, applying such strategies requires accurate, defensible valuations.
An employer cannot credibly communicate the value of a 0.1% grant without a reliable estimate of what the company is worth. This is where 409A valuations become indispensable. A 409A valuation establishes the fair market value of your company’s common stock, providing the legal and financial foundation for issuing equity grants at appropriate strike prices.
Without a 409A valuation, employers risk issuing options at prices that expose employees to unintended tax liabilities or invite regulatory scrutiny.
At Eqvista, we provide data-backed 409A valuations that give employers the confidence to structure competitive, compliant equity programs at any funding stage. Contact us to build an equity compensation strategy that attracts the talent your business needs to grow!
