AI venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has countered claims that AI will eliminate jobs, saying that productivity gains brought about by AI increase demand and therefore create jobs. These statements were made by Andreessen on his X account as there are reports about the rising trend of tech jobs in 2026.
According to data from TrueUp, a company that analyzes technology recruitment, there are more than 67,000 vacancies in software engineering for the current year, the highest in the last three years. Vacancies almost double in mid-2023 after recovery from COVID-19.
TrueUp Founder Amit Taylor told business insider: “Much of the ‘AI is replacing engineers’ narrative is not based on job posting data, at least not yet.” The data highlights that demand for software engineers remains strong, even as competition has intensified as more graduates enter computer science.
Venture capitalists argued that AI increases rather than reduces demand. “All the ‘AI job loss’ stories are fake. AI = huge increase in productivity = huge increase in demand = huge increase in jobs. See,” he wrote on X.
He said the recent increase in tech openings reflects the cyclical recovery from post-COVID hiring improvements and interest rate changes, rather than evidence against the labor impacts of AI.
Taylor said AI could narrow down certain roles or make top engineers more valuable, increasing competition for specific talent. “Right now, demand for top talent is strong, but that may continue for some time unless things change suddenly,” he said.
