This is absolutely true. I remember Dan Luu [1] and patio11's [2] blog posts from 9 years ago and 13 years ago respectively, which were widely shared, arguing essentially that you should always prefer to join a FAANG. With FAANGs all downsizing to varying degrees, or at the very least not in growth mode, this advice seems less clear-cut. For better or worse, I think we're starting to see the pendulum swing a bit towards startups with the AI gold rush.

(This is not to imply that compensation is now fair for early startup employees; it's not.)

[1]: https://danluu.com/startup-tradeoffs/

[2]: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pr...