Thoma Bravo's Founder Says AI Is Making Him Hire More, Not Less

Most headlines say AI is coming for entry-level jobs. One billionaire investor says the opposite.

Orlando Bravo runs the software-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo. He says AI is why he needs to hire more young people, not fewer.

The Grunt Work Goes, The Job Grows

Bravo's pitch is simple. AI takes over the boring parts, like spreadsheets and late-night math.

That frees junior staff to do bigger work sooner. So the job grows instead of shrinking.

For young people, AI is going to be amazing, he said at a conference in Berlin. His junior staff now spend more time with CEOs than with models.

If you define an associate as just a spreadsheet, you do not need one, he said. But his team now builds real ties with the firms they back.

He says this is a first in his 30 years in private equity. For once, he needs to hire more, not less.

The reason is plain. As AI makes new work, he wants a lot more people to do it.

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The Layoff Numbers Tell A Harsher Story

Not everyone is hiring like Bravo. AI was tied to more than 50,000 U.S. layoffs in 2025.

Salesforce, IBM, and Microsoft all pointed to the tech. Meta plans to cut about 10% of its staff this year.

That money helps fund a huge AI build-out. Meta says it could spend up to $135 billion on AI this year.

Jack Dorsey's Block went even further. It let go of more than 4,000 people, over half of its team.

Young workers are caught in the middle. They face a tough job market on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Real Divide Is Skills

AI looks less like a wrecking ball. It looks more like a sorting machine.

It splits workers who can use the tools from those who cannot. The gap shows up in pay.

Workers with AI skills can earn up to 25% more in entry jobs. That comes from the recruiter Randstad.

In the U.K., over a million young people are now out of work and school. So the government is handing out free AI courses.

The U.K. tech chief, Liz Kendall, wants to close that gap. She says the goal is to train 10 million workers by 2030.

So far, the U.K. has run 1.7 million AI courses. Kendall says AI skills lead to better-paid jobs.

The fear is real for new grads. Entry jobs are getting harder to find.

Bravo is betting the other way. He wants more young minds, not fewer.

You are more likely to land a job with AI skills, Kendall said. That is why the U.K. is pushing them so hard.

What To Watch

Bravo's plan is one bright spot in a grim year for jobs. Whether other firms copy it is the open question.

For young workers, the line is shifting. It is less about AI or no AI, and more about AI skills or none.

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