AI Startups Run 25% Smaller, Study Finds

A Harvard Business School and INSEAD study of Y Combinator and venture-backed startups from 2020 to 2024 found AI-native firms are 25% smaller, employ 13% more engineers, and have roughly 15% fewer entry-level workers and managers. These firms raise similar funding and achieve comparable valuations, concentrating opportunity among senior, elite-educated, Silicon Valley-based, male workers.