There's been a great deal of conversation on how the rise of AI might affect engineering jobs, so we decided to look into the data ourselves.
First we analyzed how many employees AI vs. non-AI software companies have hired since raising an equity round in 2024.
According to Carta data, there isn't much of a difference in the median number of employees hired by AI vs. non-AI startups, and that holds true across stages. For example, the median AI company that raised a Series A round in 2024 has since hired 9 people, while its non-AI counterpart hired 12.
When it comes to the share of new hires by function, though, AI startups are much more likely to hire engineers than non-AI ones. This is especially true at the seed stage, where the median share of new hires in engineering is 50% at AI companies, compared to just 25% at non-AI companies.
AI companies may be dedicating a larger share of their workforce to engineering because of their need to execute complex technical tasks, such as building foundational models and infrastructure. On the other hand, non-AI software companies will probably be more willing to adopt new tools as an alternative to hiring more engineers.
The reports of engineering's decline are grossly exaggerated, but we'll continue to track how AI affects startup jobs!
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