Evaluating Argo AI offer

Zoox
megasus

Go to company page Zoox

PRE
Bridgewater Associates
megasus
Mar 18 40 Comments

Considering a remote Argo AI offer for SWE II. Currently at Zoox.

Argo offer: average yearly TC over 4 years of $380k-$390k at $20B valuation ($200k base, $600k RSU grant, annual + sign on bonuses).

TC at Zoox is ~$200k with 2-3 yoe.

At Zoox, I really enjoy the interesting work, good WLB, and friendly environment but feeling underpaid relative to the current market. Based on my understanding, Argo would be slightly worse in these first 3 areas but I feel like the huge jump in TC outweighs those cons. Also expecting a promotion at Zoox and to be able to be remote.

I also have some offers elsewhere that are sub $300k TC (Nuro, Palantir, Amazon) but not really considering them for various reasons (down-leveling, culture/WLB, in office on the West coast).

Would love to get some advice on which option is best. How is working at Argo? What's the WLB and environment like? Odds of a successful IPO?

#zoox #argo #argoai #nuro #palantir #amazon

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TOP 40 Comments
  • Argo or Nuro > Zoox
    Mar 19 8
    • Zoox
      barttt

      Go to company page Zoox

      barttt
      Ok so you have no actual points to back up your statements and are just talking out of your ass, got it. What on earth do you know about how Amazon views zoox in the av market
      Mar 24
    • Amazon
      PlGA15

      Go to company page Amazon

      PlGA15
      My guess is that Amazon is investing in the AV space to reduce their massive order fulfillment spend. Who knows if Zoox will be the first to launch something that works for them though.
      Mar 29
  • Argo AI
    argoop

    Go to company page Argo AI

    argoop
    That's a solid L4 offer. Be careful with the equity they quote you a 20B valuation which it obviously isn't today.

    WLB massively differs across orgs, and onboard vs offboard so it's hard to say. Generally worse the more important your role is to the operation of the car.
    Mar 20 0
  • Zoox
    chk&wffls

    Go to company page Zoox

    chk&wffls
    That's a massive TC given their current valuation. If I was to try to convince someone to give up that TC, my argument would be
    Is that valuation sustainable? If/once they IPO, will their business be strong enough to justify $20B?
    If there's something we should have learned from the past months it's that the open market can be brutal. Look at Rivian for example. Some friends laughed and told me their TC was close to $800k when the stock was close to the peak. Now they probably make closer to $250-300k.

    Obviously you also have to think about how you evaluate the ZARs. Open market vs 409a, and $20B vs your strike price for ZARs.

    Good luck!
    Mar 20 0
  • Zoox
    megasus

    Go to company page Zoox

    PRE
    Bridgewater Associates
    megasus
    OP
    For those voting, could you explain why you voted that way? Thx
    Mar 19 3
    • Zoox
      megasus

      Go to company page Zoox

      PRE
      Bridgewater Associates
      megasus
      OP
      Makes sense, thanks! Is there anything in particular that gives you this optimism? I guess I’m just thinking about some other comparable IPOs like Aurora and TuSimple that haven’t done great
      Mar 22
    • Argo AI
      C++dev2020

      Go to company page Argo AI

      C++dev2020
      I don't know about the IPO situation but with all the partnerships I'm at least not too worried about funding.

      Argo has been sort laying low on the media/hype side of things but I think we will start ramping up and making more broadly available our ride hailing and delivery services. And once the ball starts rolling, we have many cities, two countries, and two large OEM's to scale out with.
      Mar 22
  • Argo AI
    C++dev2020

    Go to company page Argo AI

    C++dev2020
    Can you elaborate in why you believe Argo is worse in "Interesting work, good WLB, and friendly environment"?

    I think it is not too hard to advocate for a role/team that fulfill these aspects - just make sure you get a good since of the hiring manager and potential teammate's personalities/mindsets. And set strong personal boundaries off the bat - if you say yes to more work, you'll keep getting more work.
    Mar 22 2
    • Zoox
      megasus

      Go to company page Zoox

      PRE
      Bridgewater Associates
      megasus
      OP
      I just feel like my current role is very strong in those aspects. The team I’d be joining is in an area that doesn’t seem as quantitatively driven which is something I’m interested in (but still enough so for me). Also just saw lots of Argo posts talking about poor WLB.

      Thanks for the advice regarding personal boundaries.
      Mar 22
    • Argo AI
      C++dev2020

      Go to company page Argo AI

      C++dev2020
      Teamblind Feedback is definitely biased towards negative experiences, and I've heard some teams have had bad WLB - the rule of thumb apparently is "the more crucial your role is to achieving autonomy, the worse the WLB is".

      At least for me personally I've never had an issue, other than sometimes pushing myself too hard. That being said, my role isn't standing directly in the way of achieving autonomy, so I don't have too many people "breathing down my neck".
      Mar 23