What did Anthropic's H-1B filings reveal?
Anthropic's most recent federal H-1B visa filings show two employees with the title Member of Technical Staff earning annual base salaries of $1.12 million and $1.38 million, according to Digit.in's reporting on the filings. The 80 filings cover non-US workers employed in the first two quarters of fiscal year 2026.
The filings list job titles and salaries but do not identify the individuals. It is therefore not confirmed whether the top earners are AI researchers, engineers, or executive engineers.
What is an H-1B Labor Condition Application?
An H-1B Labor Condition Application (LCA) is a federal filing an employer submits to the Department of Labor when sponsoring a non-US worker for an H-1B visa. These filings are public record and include the job title and offered salary, but not the employee's name.
According to Ellis.com's visa sponsor database, Anthropic filed 156 H-1B LCAs in 2025 alone, up from 55 in 2024 and just 10 in 2023. The median H-1B salary across all sponsored positions is $280,000.
How much does Anthropic pay across different roles?
The salary ranges reported in the H-1B filings vary widely by role. Here's what the filings show:
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| Role | Base Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Member of Technical Staff | $133,952 – $1,380,000 |
| Member of Technical Staff (Manager) | $134,139 – $850,000 |
| RL Researcher (MTS) | $112,778 – $500,000 |
| Product Design Manager | $140,254 – $385,000 |
| Product Operations | $125,000 – $500,000 |
| Technical Sales | $155,522 – $500,000 |
| Research Operations | $125,000 – $500,000 |
| Finance & Strategy | $182,978 – $310,000 |
| Accounting | $141,378 – $230,000 |
| Marketing | $159,328 – $200,000 |
| Partnerships | $227,760 – $248,500 |
| Commercial Counsel | $198,765 – $320,000 |
| Compute Capacity | $187,574 – $300,000 |
| Finance Systems | $152,152 – $315,000 |
The Member of Technical Staff role shows the widest spread — from under $134,000 to $1.38 million — reflecting how much compensation varies within a single job category at Anthropic.
Do the filings include bonuses or stock?
No. H-1B LCA filings report base salary only. Bonuses and equity awards are not included in the figures.
This matters because stock options can represent a large share of total compensation at high-growth AI companies. Anthropic's valuation reportedly reached $965 billion in May, per Digit.in. Employees who hold stock options would have seen significant financial gains at that valuation. The actual total compensation for top earners is likely well above the base figures in the filings.
Why are Anthropic's salaries so high?
The filings reflect intense competition for AI talent. Anthropic competes directly with Meta, Google, and OpenAI for experienced engineers and researchers. High base salaries are one tool companies use to attract and retain workers in this market.
Here's what we know so far: the filings confirm Anthropic is paying some of the highest disclosed base salaries in the industry, but the full picture — including bonuses and equity — remains outside what public filings require companies to disclose.
The AI talent race has pushed compensation well beyond traditional tech norms. Roles like OpenAI Codex engineering and frontier model research now command packages that rival or exceed senior finance and law positions.
How does Anthropic's H-1B filing history look?
Anthropic's H-1B filing volume has grown sharply over the past four years:
- 2021: 2 LCA filings
- 2022: 2 LCA filings
- 2023: 10 LCA filings
- 2024: 55 LCA filings
- 2025: 156 LCA filings
The company has filed 225 total H-1B LCAs covering 633 positions across 5 states, according to Ellis.com. The largest worksite is San Francisco, California, with 498 positions. New York follows with 72, and Seattle with 60.
Anthropic does not sponsor green cards. Ellis.com shows zero PERM green card petitions on record for the company.
Where does Anthropic rank among AI startup salaries?
Business Insider has reported on salary data across top AI startups including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity, though the full breakdown is behind a paywall. The H-1B filings provide the clearest public window into what Anthropic is actually paying.
The CAISI AI reviews landscape and broader AI industry competition continue to push compensation higher across the sector as companies race to staff frontier model teams.
Anthropic's confidential IPO filing, reported by Forbes in June 2026, adds another dimension to the compensation story. Employees holding equity ahead of a public offering have additional financial incentive to stay — which may partly explain the company's strong retention record noted in the filings coverage.
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