There’s a shift in AI hiring³²—from Ivy League degrees to real-world experience at top AI startups. Top AI talent is now found in startups like OpenAI, Cohere etc., not just Harvard, Stanford PhDs or ex-Googlers.

What’s going on here?

SignalFire's data shows a new source of AI talent emerging, dubbed AI-vy league.

What does this mean?

The report says that since 2015 there’s been a drop in the importance of traditional degrees for AI roles. The same trend follows for people who went to top schools like Ivy-leagues or big tech companies like Meta or Google.

But then what type of talent is being hired, and where do they come from? Turns out the focus is on practical AI skills and achievements, not just academic credentials. And this top talent is concentrated in the “AI-vy League" i.e. 9 AI startups. These are:

Open AI, Anthropic, Inflection AI, Mosaic ML (acquired by DataBricks), Cohere and AI21 laps, Stability AI, Midjourney, and Hugging Face. (in no order)

Though the de-credentialization is in part due to necessity—the tech world needs so much AI talent that demand may outstrip supply from top universities.

Why should I care?

Big tech companies are now targeting these startups for recruitment, indicating a shift in what's valued in AI talent. This trend democratizes the field, making it more about ability and less about educational background. Useful signals if you’re hiring or want a job in the AI space.