So…is AI really taking startup jobs?
It’s the hot topic around Silicon Valley and opinions are decidedly mixed.
There are optimists who believe knowledge work will be transformed into a creative paradise — and there are pessimists who fret over employment broadly.
Carta’s data can give a glimpse into the current state of affairs. Across most early stages in venture, team sizes have declined pretty strongly since 2022.
Source: Carta
Software startups that raised Series A rounds in 2022 typically had an average of 22 full-time, equity holding employees. Companies raising an A in 2024 had only 15.
Now, it would be inaccurate to pin the entirety of this decline on AI. Much of it has to do with funding drying up and founders getting religion on capital efficiency. ARR per employee demands from the VCs have a way of focusing the mind.
But we are hearing many founders say they are delaying hiring more people because their current team + AI tooling can do much more work than expected. Delay those hires long enough and boom, AI takes jobs.
No final conclusions yet.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Team sizes are getting smaller across all deal stages
- AI may be the driving factor
- But the recent tight funding environment might also be a contributing factor
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AUTHOR: Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta and Data Storyteller
