Thoma Bravo says AI expands junior investing roles as entry-level job concerns grow

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AI expands junior investing roles

Highlights

Thoma Bravo's junior associates spend less time on modeling and comparables as increased AI adoption broadens job responsibilities and accelerates career maturity.
Bravo reports AI is creating more work and driving increased associate hiring—his first such experience in 30 years of private equity—as staff engage deeper with portfolio companies.
Randstad data shows entry-level workers with AI skills can command salaries up to 25% higher, amid UK government efforts to upskill 10 million workers by 2030.

AI reshapes associate work at Thoma Bravo

As reported by CNBC, Bravo says junior associates at Thoma Bravo are spending less time on models and comparables as the software-focused private equity firm uses AI more heavily. Speaking with Annette Weisbach at the SuperReturn conference in Berlin on Tuesday, he says those employees will take on broader responsibilities and mature faster in their roles.

Bravo says associates are now getting deeper exposure to investing operations and higher-level business analysis. He adds that AI also reduces late-night requests for routine work, because he can complete some tasks himself more quickly instead of calling junior staff to handle them.

He rejects the view that AI will inevitably destroy entry-level jobs. Bravo says that if an associate's role is defined only by spreadsheet work, that function may no longer be needed, but he argues his firm's junior employees are now speaking with portfolio companies more often, building relationships with chief executives and supporting a wider range of work, which in turn increases hiring needs.

Bravo says this is the first time in his 30-year private equity career that he has needed to hire more because AI is creating additional work rather than less.

Job market pressure and policy response

The comments come as concerns rise over youth unemployment and shrinking entry-level opportunities in the U.S. and UK. The article says recent data shows the number of young people not in education, employment or training in the UK rises above 1 million in the first four months of the year, while employers in both markets cut jobs and automate more work with AI.

At the same time, several large companies link layoffs to AI-related efficiency drives or spending shifts. Salesforce, IBM and Microsoft cite AI among reasons for job cuts, while Meta says in April it plans to reduce about 10% of its workforce to offset major capital expenditure on AI infrastructure this year, with that spending potentially reaching as much as $135 billion in 2026. Block also lays off more than 4,000 employees, saying it can operate more efficiently with a smaller team as automation expands.

UK technology secretary Liz Kendall says the government is focusing on AI upskilling to help young workers navigate the transition. In comments to CNBC, she says the UK aims to upskill 10 million workers by 2030 and has already delivered 1.7 million AI skills courses.

Recent data from recruitment firm Randstad indicates that entry-level workers with AI skills can command salaries up to 25% higher. Kendall says workers with AI skills are more likely to secure employment and better pay, reinforcing the government's emphasis on training and redesigning entry-level roles.

Our earlier article on the UK’s tightening summer job market highlighted that vacancies for seasonal roles are falling much faster than overall hiring, making it harder for young people to get a first foothold at work. It also noted that more than 1 million Britons aged 16–24 are already not in education, employment or training, as employers pull back on junior hiring and rely more on temporary roles.

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