AI start-ups are snubbing entry-level talent in favor of Silicon Valley men with top degrees, research shows

Tech companies like Meta and Google have built a reputation for snatching up talent before they’re out of college, and sticking them into six-figure roles. But now, the incoming wave of new AI start-ups are turning away young, digital native workers in favor of their veteran colleagues. 

According to researchers at Harvard Business School and non-profit business school INSEAD, AI-native startups are building smaller and flatter teams with fewer entry-level workers than their non-AI-enabled peers.

It found that firms that build AI-enabled products and processes employ around 15% fewer entry-level workers than conventional start-ups. 

And there’s a certain archetype for who is most likely to fill up their office cubicles: “They are geographically concentrated in Silicon Valley, and employ workforces that are more male, more likely to hold advanced degrees, and drawn from more prestigious employers and institutions,” the study notes.

AI-native start-ups are still succeeding with fewer, senior employees

The findings reaffirm the career dilemma that scrappy young talent are being overlooked in the AI era. The bottom rungs of the corporate ladder have been kicked........

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