(00:00:00) Entry-Level Hiring Collapsed 80% — And the 2027 Talent Cliff Is Coming
(00:00:26) Snowflake AWS Six Billion Deal
(00:01:22) Entry-Level Hiring Collapse
(00:02:17) The Premature Cutting Risk
(00:03:05) The 2027 Talent Cliff
(00:03:44) What to Watch Next

AI is generating record enterprise revenue and quietly dismantling the talent pipeline at the same time — and most executives are only pricing in one of those two realities.

Today's briefing covers the most consequential AI business developments of the day, starting with Snowflake's blockbuster Q1 results: $1.39 billion in product revenue, up 33% year over year, driven almost entirely by AI. Paired with a $6 billion multiyear partnership with AWS, the signal is clear — enterprise AI has moved from pilot to core infrastructure spending. The software sector ETF has rebounded 24% since mid-April, and at least one analyst has raised his Snowflake price target to $280.

But the deeper story is what Harvard researchers have now documented in peer-reviewed data: companies that adopted generative AI cut entry-level hiring by 80% relative to non-adopting peers across a six-quarter window. These aren't roles being redesigned — they're being eliminated, as AI absorbs debugging, drafting, contract review, and data processing tasks that historically defined junior positions.

The hidden risk is timing. Many companies began cutting junior headcount almost immediately after ChatGPT launched — before automation had actually arrived at scale. That anticipatory move creates an inverted experience curve: senior hiring is growing, junior intake has collapsed, and nothing is filling the middle. The compounding consequence lands somewhere between 2027 and 2030, when industries that moved fast on entry-level cuts will face simultaneous shortages of experienced workers.

The companies that continue investing in junior talent and AI training during this window may own a significant pipeline advantage by then. Today's episode gives you the framework to decide which side of that bet you're on.

This episode includes AI-generated content.