Startup equity for workers under 30 drops to 3% as AI reshapes hiring

Fewer young workers are getting startup equity

The share of startup equity going to employees under 30 has dropped from approximately 8% to 3% over recent years, according to data from altshare, an equity-management platform tracking more than 3,000 private companies and 120,000 stakeholders. The decline reflects a fundamental shift in how startups are staffed and funded as artificial intelligence reshapes the venture landscape.

Ronen Solomon, altshare's founder and chief executive, emphasized that young workers are not having equity taken away. Rather, they are landing far fewer of the roles that traditionally carried equity compensation. Startups are operating with smaller teams and hiring fewer junior employees, so equity grants naturally follow the reduced headcount in entry-level positions.

The pattern aligns with broader labor market research. A Stanford Digital Economy Lab study led by Erik Brynjolfsson examined payroll records from ADP covering millions of American workers. The research found that employment for workers aged 22 to 25 in occupations most exposed to generative AI fell 13% relative to older colleagues after AI came into wide use. Software development and customer support—common entry points for technical careers—were among the hardest hit. Meanwhile, employment for workers over 30 in the same high-exposure roles rose 6% to 12%.

Venture capital flows heavily toward AI

More than 60% of all venture capital raised on Carta's platform in the first quarter of 2026 went to AI companies, the largest concentration the firm has recorded. The median Series A valuation for an AI foundational-model company reached approximately $300 million, compared to roughly $55 million for non-AI companies at the same stage.

Early-stage valuations have climbed across the board. The median Series A valuation hit a record $78.7 million in the last quarter of 2025, up 37% year-over-year, with the median seed round at $24 million. Companies credibly positioned in AI typically price above even those elevated levels.

Solomon cautioned that concentration alone does not guarantee strong returns for investors. His platform captures how companies are priced and owned at investment, not at exit where returns are ultimately determined. The risk he identified is entry price: paying a premium to invest raises the bar for what the investment must earn to justify the cost.

Solo founders and smaller teams

The composition of founding teams is shifting. Among businesses tracked by altshare that have taken outside funding and established a cap table, approximately 25% of those started in 2025 were founded by a single person, up from around 12% in 2021.

Separate data from Carta showed solo founders accounted for about 35% of new startups formed on its platform in 2024, up from 17% in 2017. However, only about 17% of companies that raised venture rounds were solo-founded, indicating that two-person teams remain the most common structure among funded startups.

Solomon noted that the trend toward solo founders predates the current AI wave, which has accelerated rather than created the pattern. Lower-cost software tools have made it feasible for one person to operate a company further into its lifecycle than was possible several years ago.

Why it matters

This redistribution of startup equity has direct implications for wealth creation and economic mobility. As exits pick up after a prolonged slowdown—with 34 IPOs in the first quarter of 2026 raising close to $10 billion among Carta-tracked companies—the payouts will flow to a smaller, older group of stakeholders. Entry-level employees who historically built wealth through early-stage equity grants are increasingly excluded from that opportunity, even as the companies they might have joined achieve successful outcomes. For technology leaders, the shift raises questions about talent pipelines and whether the industry can sustain innovation if fewer young workers gain meaningful ownership stakes.

These findings were first reported by Forbes in an analysis by Dara-Abasi Ita drawing on altshare and Carta data.