Startup workforce AI - Startup Snapshot

According to our report on how startups are using AI, while 82% of founders said GenAI has transformed the way they build startups, only 15% of startup executives are investing in AI training.

This gap between adoption and enablement raises critical questions about the future of the startup workforce. Is traditional AI training becoming obsolete, or are startups missing a crucial opportunity? To decode this paradox, we sat down with Tzahi Weisfeld, who offers a unique perspective: perhaps the solution isn’t in training, but in a new generation of talent that’s already fluent in the language of AI.

Our data shows that only 15% of startup executives report investing in AI training for their employees. As someone deeply embedded in the startup ecosystem, what’s your take on this surprisingly low number?

The transformation to an AI-based organization is indeed critical for older organizations that their people are used to work in a certain way. However, new startups are taking a different approach – they’re hiring what I call the ‘born to AI’ generation.

These are people who’ve learned to use GenAI through their high school and university years. They don’t need traditional upskilling because AI tools are already integrated into their core workflow.

This born to AI generation is not just about cheating through using Generative AI to cut the corners. It’s actually how they do stuff, new stuff, leveraging GenAI. This is the way they work. This is the way they operate. We’re going to see a lot of super interesting new talent that has been born to this new generation, creating some really innovative startups.

How is this ‘born to AI’ generation changing the startup landscape, and what advantages do they bring to new companies?

What I see with actually with pre-seed startups is really how fast they’re moving. They’re not writing code from day one, they’re starting conversations, they’re doing validation, then immediately they run through building a demo using GenAI. They bring up a demo and then a couple of days later they have new feedback from customer calls or prospect calls. They put it back into the model and they create a new presentation, they create a new one pager, they create a new demo.

This is really different from the way it used to be. GenAI is great for startups – everything can happen much, much faster. Code faster, demo faster, marketing faster. But we need to be careful about how we use it.

What skills should startup leaders look for when building their teams in this new era?

A critical skill is to keep updated with the latest models. Because it’s still a super fast evolving space and the jump and the pace of change between one model to another is actually pretty significant. So you can increase your value and you can increase your competitiveness by learning and being super attuned to the changes and always using the latest and greatest.

However, I am concerned about what I saw in the research – founders saying they’re using GenAI for ideation. I don’t think you can innovate by using so much of other people’s data. You’re all learning from the same set. You’re all seeing the same things. The models usually create similar answers for all of you. That’s where I would expect people to actually bring genuine new ideas to the table instead of learning from others through the GenAI model.

Looking ahead, how do you see the workforce evolution playing out in the startup ecosystem?

We’re going to see this new generation of talent that has been born to AI creating some really interesting new things. They have the ability to move incredibly fast – from conversations to demos, from feedback to iterations, all leveraging GenAI as a natural part of their workflow.

But the key is using it in the right way. While GenAI can accelerate everything from coding to marketing, we need to ensure we’re not limiting our innovation potential. The future belongs to those who can balance the speed and efficiency of AI with genuine, original thinking.