How a Canadian student landed an OpenAI internship in San Francisco and what he learned
Hamza Mostafa, a 21-year-old Canadian software engineering student, shares his journey to securing an internship at OpenAI in San Francisco. He moved to the city in October 2025 after deciding that being in Silicon Valley was essential for a tech career. Mostafa applied early after receiving tips from contacts, cold-emailed recruiters, and passed two rigorous technical interviews focused on speed. During his three-month internship from May to August 2025, he worked in OpenAI's Mission Bay office, learned to use AI agents for coding, and was impressed by the intelligence and humility of colleagues. He had limited interaction with CEO Sam Altman but felt Altman cared about interns. Despite visa issues preventing a return offer, Mostafa remains in San Francisco working on his own AI projects, citing the density of talent and opportunities as worth the high cost of living.
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