VC firm Redpoint tells startups to buckle up for a hiring showdown. Here's the 13-slide deck it shared with founders.

Business Insider

07-07-2025

Tech is hiring again, but the roles and skills in demand look different this time around.
Atli Thorkelsson, head of network at Redpoint Ventures, put together a slide deck on hiring trends.
The top of the market is "the most competitive it's been in years," Thorkelsson said.
The tech industry is now split between two starkly different job markets.
On one side, there's a stalled job market where more workers are staying put. On the other there is a rapidly expanding artificial intelligence sector that's reshaping the talent landscape.
To help founders understand the situation, Atli Thorkelsson, head of talent network at Redpoint Ventures, created a slide deck on the state of tech hiring. He presented it at the firm's third annual InfraRed Summit, which brings together founders of up-and-coming companies in cloud infrastructure.
The deck includes data cobbled together from Pave, a compensation management tool; TrueUp, a tech jobs marketplace; and SignalFire, an early-stage venture capital firm.
Thorkelsson notes that the charts throughout the deck represent fast-growing tech firms. Since Redpoint used data from vendors that mainly serve tech clients with open roles, those companies end up overrepresented.
Here's an exclusive look at the 13-slide deck that Redpoint shared with founders.
Tech is hiring again, but the roles and skills in demand look different this time around.
The top of the market is "the most competitive it's been in years," Thorkelsson said.
Throkelsson said more employees are staying put in a tougher job market.
Retention is key. An analysis of pay data suggests companies are burning more equity and cash to keep people happy.
The companies that are hiring are hiring across the board.
The bulk of new hires have gone to AI companies.
Entry-level hiring is on the decline. An efficiency drive means leaner teams packed with battle-tested veterans.
AI companies tilt toward technical talent more than their peers at the same stage.
Premium talent is landing at AI firms, and with that comes premium paychecks.
Machine learning engineers are pulling in more cash and equity than their software engineering counterparts.
Interviews are getting more AI-focused. Candidates are being asked about their AI skills far more often than a year ago.
In recent years, some HR teams toyed with shorter or front-loaded vesting schedules. Now, most are reverting to the standard linear vest, sticking with what candidates already understand, Thorkelsson said.
San Francisco still leads for AI jobs, but New York City is gaining ground as a tech hub.