From: aidotengineer
Location remains a crucial factor in building AI teams and hiring AI talent, even in a distributed world [00:10:22]. Data from SignalFire’s proprietary AI/ML platform, Beacon, which tracks over 650 million employees and 80 million companies, offers insights into talent concentration and movement [00:02:29].
Current State of Engineer Distribution
Contrary to some popular debates, San Francisco is not “dead” as a tech hub [00:08:19].
- San Francisco accounts for approximately 29% of all startup engineers [00:08:23]. This is slightly down from a 2013 peak of 33% but has been ticking up since 2021 [00:08:30].
- New York and Seattle have both doubled their market share of engineers over the same period [00:08:36].
- For big tech companies, 50% of engineers still reside in the San Francisco Bay Area [00:08:49].
AI-Specific Talent Concentration
When focusing specifically on AI engineers, the concentration in key cities becomes even more pronounced:
- San Francisco leads, with 35% of all AI engineers residing there [00:09:00].
- Seattle holds about 22% of AI engineers [00:09:11].
- New York accounts for approximately 10% [00:09:14].
- San Francisco alone has more AI engineers than Seattle and New York combined [00:09:14].
These three markets (San Francisco, Seattle, and New York) are “punching well above their weight” in terms of AI hiring and talent, showing a much larger share of AI talent compared to their overall engineer market share [00:09:18]. The talent is currently concentrating in these three key markets [00:09:41].
Funding and Talent Flow
The concentration of AI talent is also reflected in funding trends:
- San Francisco accounts for nearly 38% of all early-stage funding into AI startups [00:09:46].
- This is significant considering San Francisco only accounts for 26% of all early-stage funding in the United States total [00:09:55].
- Therefore, San Francisco is excelling in both AI talent concentration and the funding directed towards AI companies [00:10:03].
Key Takeaways for Hiring
Location Still Matters
- Twitter does not determine whether a market is dead; data does [00:10:15].
- Location remains important even in a highly distributed work environment [00:10:22].
- San Francisco, Seattle, and New York are the leading locations for AI talent today [00:10:27].
- Recruiters should monitor location and funding markets to identify where talent and capital are flowing, using this as a filter to find the right candidates [00:10:33].