Today’s stories reveal two sides of the same coin: the extraordinary cost of winning in AI, and the growing friction in global capital flows. OpenAI pays $865K in stock compensation per employee—a number that redefines talent war economics. Meanwhile, US acquisitions of European targets have plummeted 60%, signaling structural change in transatlantic M&A. Both stories point to a fragmenting global economy where concentration and friction accelerate simultaneously.
🤖 AI & Talent
OpenAI’s Stock Compensation: $865K Per Employee
Source: The Information
OpenAI’s compensation reveals the AI talent war’s true cost: $865,000 average stock-based compensation per employee. This dwarfs even peak FAANG numbers. With perhaps a few thousand people globally possessing frontier AI research skills, competition for this fixed pool drives compensation to unprecedented levels.
The sustainability question looms: these packages require OpenAI’s valuation to keep rising. The burn rate is staggering—a company betting everything on winning, and paying accordingly. Companies that can’t match these numbers lose access to top researchers, creating winner-take-all dynamics in the talent market itself.
🏢 M&A & Capital Flows
US Acquisitions of Europe Drop 60%
Source: Financial Times / Dealogic
A structural shift in global M&A: US acquisitions of European targets plummeted 60%. This isn’t cyclical—it’s regulatory and geopolitical. GDPR, the Digital Markets Act, and assertive competition authorities create friction that redirects US acquirer attention elsewhere.
For European companies seeking exits, the shrinking US buyer pool reduces options. For US companies, European expansion now requires organic growth—slower and riskier. This is deglobalization expressed in capital markets: flows that once moved freely now face friction.
The Throughline
Today’s stories share a theme: concentration and fragmentation accelerating together. AI talent concentrates in fewer hands as compensation wars intensify. Cross-border M&A fragments as regulatory friction rises. The global economy is simultaneously becoming more concentrated (in AI capabilities) and more fragmented (in capital flows).
The strategic implication: success increasingly requires choosing domains carefully. In AI talent, only the best-funded can compete. In M&A, geographic proximity matters more than it did. The structural forces are reshaping competitive landscapes faster than many strategies can adapt.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
