Chapter 2
Which markets have the most Tech Talent specializing in Artificial Intelligence?
Scoring Tech Talent 2024
2 Minute Read
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Artificial intelligence is a transformative technology with high potential to become a major source of economic growth and real estate demand.
This technology enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence using algorithms, data and computational power. Tasks such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception and language understanding will be revolutionized. The deployment of these AI systems across industries could be a catalyst for business and workforce growth, much like mobile internet technology was after the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
AI software and hardware developers currently are the most sought-after tech talent by employers. Across the U.S. and Canada, there are about 325,000 tech talent workers possessing AI skills. The San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and New York Metro have the most AI-specialty talent, accounting for 44% of the U.S. total (Figure 10). Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal were the top Canadian markets with 60% of the country’s total AI-specialty talent.
Figure 10: U.S. & Canada Artificial Intelligence Tech Talent By Market
Note: Based on LinkedIn members who self-reported their occupation as tech talent with artificial intelligence and machine learning skills.
The tech industry employed 48% of total AI-specialty talent in the U.S. and 46% in Canada–the most in each country. Professional & business services and financial services were the next highest industries with less than half the tech industry’s share (Figure 11). By market, Seattle (71%) and the San Francisco Bay Area (65%) had the highest shares of AI-specialty talent working for tech companies, followed by Vancouver (55%). Los Angeles, New York Metro, Boston, Toronto and Austin each had 45% or more of AI-specialty talent in the tech industry. New York Metro was the only market where AI-specialty talent in financial services (22%) exceeded professional & business services (18%).
The most significant indicators for any market’s potential growth of AI-specialty talent are the presence of universities with established AI education programs, major technology companies developing AI and available venture capital funding. The San Francisco Bay Area dominates for these indicators, attracting more than half of U.S. AI venture capital funding, most of the country’s largest start-up AI companies and two of the top five university AI programs, according to U.S. News & World Report. Seattle, New York Metro, Boston, Los Angeles, Toronto and Washington, D.C. also have many of these growth indicators.
Existing tech talent workforces are rapidly upskilling to include AI development skills as companies across all industries deploy this new technology. Thus, AI-skilled tech talent will remain in high demand.
Figure 11: U.S. & Canada Artificial Intelligence Tech Talent by Industry
Note: Based on LinkedIn members who self-reported their occupation as tech talent with artificial intelligence and machine learning skills.
The most significant indicators for any market’s potential growth of AI-specialty talent are the presence of universities with established AI education programs, major technology companies developing AI and available venture capital funding.
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