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Founding PMs at high-growth companies earn $176K–$225K. Median: $205K. Based on 43 public job postings (2025–2026).
Median: $205K · Based on 43 public job postings · Updated July 1, 2026
This Founding PM salary benchmark is built from public job postings at high-growth and AI-native companies — no private placement data. Figures reflect base salary and are refreshed as new postings are collected.
New York
Based on companies with 3+ active postings. Median of publicly advertised salary range.
Typical experience required: 5–8 years.
Founding PMs are engineers who design, build, and operate the core software systems. This benchmark reflects Manager-level base compensation at high-growth and AI-native companies.
What is the average Founding PM salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $205K, with a typical range of $176K–$225K, based on 43 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.
How does Founding PM pay compare in San Francisco vs. remote?
San Francisco roles pay a median of $223K, while fully-remote roles pay $210K.
Where does this salary data come from?
It is aggregated from public job postings on company career pages — no private placement or client data. We require a minimum of 15 postings per role.
Figures are the midpoint of each posting's advertised USD salary range, aggregated from 43 public job postings (2025–2026). The range shown is the 25th–75th percentile; the median is the 50th percentile. Equity is separate and not included; where a posting's range reflects on-target earnings (OTE) for commission roles, that is included in the midpoint. Roles require at least 15 postings to be published. Last refreshed July 1, 2026.
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