Cohere
Small (~500)
OpenAI
Large (~3,500)
Best For
Cohere
Best for: Enterprise AI builders willing to trade stability for cutting-edge NLP research
OpenAI
Best for: Engineers who want to build frontier AI models at the company defining the industry, with elite compensation
Ratings
CohereOpenAI
2.9
4.5
Overall
2.5
3.6
Work-Life Balance
3.0
4.6
Culture & Values
3.2
4.5
Comp & Benefits
2.3
4.3
Senior Mgmt
2.5
4.3
Career Opps
👍 48% Recommend
👤 55% CEO Approval (Aidan Gomez)
👍 90% Recommend
👤 95% CEO Approval (Sam Altman)
Culture Values
Cohere only
No unique values
OpenAI only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Shared
🌱 Learning & Growth⚙️ Engineering-Driven
Pros & Cons
Cohere
- Cutting-edge NLP research from Transformer co-author
- Enterprise AI focus gives real customer impact
- Frequent organizational restructuring has led to notable team turnover
- Internal communication from leadership could be more transparent
OpenAI
- Cutting-edge frontier AI research with world-class colleagues
- Elite compensation — top-tier TC and equity packages
- High-intensity environment — long hours and intense pace are the norm
- Internal politics and rapid org changes as the company scales
Bottom Line
Cohere
Choose Cohere if you want Transformer co-author pedigree and enterprise AI focus — but expect turbulence and lower ratings.
OpenAI
High-intensity, mission-driven culture with world-class colleagues and top-tier comp — but expect long hours, rapid org changes, and internal politics as the company scales.
Open Roles
Cohere — 116 jobs
💻 Engineering
36
💼 Sales / GTM
12
🧠 ML / AI
9
📋 Product
8
📣 Marketing
7
💰 Finance
4
👤 HR / People
4
📊 Data
3
⚙️ Operations
2
⚖️ Legal
1
🎧 Support
1
OpenAI — 655 jobs
💻 Engineering
317
💼 Sales / GTM
57
📋 Product
30
📊 Data
28
🧠 ML / AI
28
📣 Marketing
24
⚙️ Operations
17
⚖️ Legal
13
🎨 Design
10
👤 HR / People
9
💰 Finance
7
🎧 Support
4
Summary
Cohere scores 2.9/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 2.5 work-life balance rating. OpenAI scores 4.5/5.0 overall with a 3.6 WLB. That’s a 1.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Learning & Growth, Engineering-Driven. OpenAI also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact, Strong Comp & Equity.
On the hiring front, Cohere has 116 open roles and OpenAI has 655 open roles.