How to get a job at OpenAI?

I have OpenAI employees that follow me on github and over 50 employees that are acquaintances from there.

I have a solid background and the required technical ability to work there.

Everytime I apply I get no answer. I never asked for a referral and Google has reached out for an interview.

Do I need to get a referral to get a shot at OpenAI's interview process?

I even had some OpenAI technical staff asked me for advice and help with some problems they were facing. OpenAI has even given me in the past a 20k grant.

Some employees even have very similar background as mine and I think I would be a great fit there.

for me it's weird that I've applied around 10 times in the last 3 years and never made it to the interview process.

Any suggestions are welcomed.