Desk·2026-10-10
OpenAI AE year still trails the lab IC book
Same account-executive title. OpenAI prints the lab quota year. Stripe prints the payments book under it by about $36k. The OpenAI software seat clears the AE OTE by $293k.
OpenAI typical $360,000 against $324,000 at Stripe.
AE OTE
OpenAI typical sits ~1.11× Stripe
Same title. Lab enterprise AE clears $360k OTE on a $180k base. Payments enterprise AE clears $324k on a $162k base.
How to plan it
Sit the IC year before you carry the lab quota
A closer planning 2027 should treat OpenAI and Stripe as two books, not one sales band. OpenAI said on 9 October it fired three researchers for violating policies on handling sensitive information after they published a letter raising safety concerns. That internal note does not reprice the seat. OpenAI enterprise AE prints $360k typical OTE with a $180k base, sample fourteen, seven work-email, marked hot. Stripe enterprise AE prints $324k typical with a $162k base, sample twenty-five. The lab leads by about $36k. OpenAI software engineer prints $653k typical with a $270k base — the AE OTE trails the IC year by about $293k. Stripe software engineer prints $328k typical with a $188k base — almost the Stripe AE OTE, higher base. If you can carry a quota and hold paper, sit OpenAI AE. If you can ship systems, sit OpenAI SWE or Stripe SWE. Name the mix. The firing is culture. The seat is the book.
Also: OpenAI vs Stripe · Who pays AE OTE