AI companies now pay counterintelligence specialists between $200,000 and $500,000, according to workforce data tracker Revelio Labs. The figures, compiled by Reuters, show how the race for AI supremacy has turned corporate security into one of the sector's most competitive hiring markets.

The trigger for the current scrutiny is the scandal that ended Jensen Huang's tenure as CEO of Nvidia, the AI chip giant he cofounded. Last weekend he admitted a romantic relationship with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. U.S. officials believe Megaspeed executive Alice Huang was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security, and surveillance revealed she was feeding information to Beijing, according to reports. China has denied any espionage.

Nvidia's board launched an investigation but concluded that national security and company secrets were not compromised. Throughout the relationship, Huang retained access to President Donald Trump and his top administration officials, even as the U.S. intelligence community raised alarms.

How fast is counterintelligence hiring growing?

The Revelio data shows steep, accelerating growth across the leading AI firms:

• Anthropic has hired 33 employees for counterintelligence functions so far this year, up from 14 last year and nine in 2024.
• OpenAI's counterintelligence hiring jumped to 22 in 2026 from nine in 2025.
• Nvidia hired 16 people for counterintelligence this year, despite the scandal.

The companies are also recruiting from the top of the intelligence establishment. In 2025, Anthropic appointed former CIA deputy director David Cohen and former National Security Agency cybersecurity director Dave Luber to its national security advisory council. In 2024, OpenAI named former NSA director Paul Nakasone to its board.

The month before the Huang affair became public, an OpenAI engineer was arrested for planting a listening device in a company conference room. The Justice Department alleged he was communicating with a member of the Saudi royal family.

Why does demand outstrip supply?

Christopher Falkenberg, a former U.S. Secret Service agent and president of Insite Risk Management, told Reuters: "The AI firms have snapped up a lot of security talent." He added: "There are some very sophisticated people out of government thinking about security for these businesses… Demand outstrips the supply of people with relevant experience."

The shortage has not slowed the postings. OpenAI is seeking a senior global security investigator with counterintelligence listed as a key skill. Anthropic is advertising a threat-intelligence security engineer position. ASML, the chip equipment maker, is hunting for a Taiwan-based intelligence officer, according to Reuters.

What do insiders say about executive vulnerability?

Eric O'Neill, a former FBI counterintelligence operative, told Fortune's Tatiana Sataua that executives need training to recognize manipulation—and that colleagues need a way to intervene when the boss refuses to listen.

An approach rarely starts with a request for company secrets, O'Neill said. It may begin at a conference, through a business introduction, over drinks, or on a dating app. Warning signs can be subtle: a relationship that moves unusually quickly, persistent questions about sensitive business matters, requests to meet influential colleagues, or encouragement to keep secrets. Those signs are harder to detect when the person under scrutiny is someone the executive trusts.

"By the time a security professional raises concerns, the executive may already be emotionally invested and unwilling to listen," O'Neill said.

Is Washington moving in parallel?

The private sector is not acting alone. Sources told the Washington Post last month that the Pentagon is planning a spying program deploying "nonofficial cover officers" who pose as executives, part of a broader economic warfare campaign.

Politico reported that the Defense Department is quietly building an elite agency to covertly sabotage foreign technology programs that could threaten U.S. military superiority. The Technology Support Office was established in April by reorganizing two classified intelligence programs that have conducted smaller-scale technology sabotage since 2023. The Pentagon has denied the reports.

In September, CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said the U.S. is expanding espionage against China by targeting companies in sensitive areas such as AI, biotechnology and chips. The Pentagon also formed the Economic Defense Unit this year, tasked with "deterring, denying, disrupting, and helping to defeat adversaries through economic means," sources told DefenseScoop.

For AI companies, the policy signal is unambiguous: trade secrets in the sector are now treated as national security assets, and the market for the people who protect them will stay tight.