With over 18,000 startups and a reported annual ecosystem growth rate of nearly 20% between 2024 and 2025, San Francisco is widely regarded as one of the most innovative cities in the world, particularly in AI. Its high concentration of venture capital firms creates an environment that rewards rapid scaling, intensifying competition for sales development representatives (SDRs) who can support ambitious revenue goals.
Sales Development Representatives prospect and qualify leads to build customer pipelines. While strong research, communication, and relationship-building skills are essential across markets, AI companies in San Francisco increasingly seek candidates with deeper technical fluency than what is typically expected from entry-level roles.
Candidates with this skill set are better positioned to communicate product differentiation, identify cross-sell opportunities, and propose consultative solutions to technical audiences such as developers and engineers. By understanding how a product fits into a prospect’s workflows, budget, and business model, they help establish credibility early in the sales process, setting themselves apart from less technically proficient teams.
Deeper product knowledge is particularly valuable in San Francisco, where many tech companies operate with product-led or hybrid go-to-market (GTM) motions. In these environments, SDRs often engage product-qualified leads (PQLs) after users interact with the product through free trials or freemium models, enabling more personalized conversations about use cases and next steps.
Beyond pipeline generation, SDRs also collect valuable feedback that helps AI companies refine messaging, pricing, and product features, ultimately contributing to more targeted go-to-market strategies as organizations scale.
Below are the top ten recruiting agencies for Sales Development Representatives in AI in San Francisco. These firms combine deep role and industry expertise, thorough vetting processes, and local market fluency to pair competitive candidates with forward-looking AI companies.
1. Betts Recruiting
Founded in 2009, Betts Recruiting specializes in delivering exceptional go-to-market candidates for tech companies of all sizes. The firm has leveraged deep Bay Area networks, flexible hiring models, and a modern, tech-enabled approach to match high performers with over 10,000 startups since its inception, including many San Francisco-based AI organizations such as Zendesk, Splashtop, and Kolena.
The firm partnered with Splashtop, a remote access and support software provider, to hire four SDRs in a month. Through its Recruitment as a Service (RaaS) model, Splashtop enlisted Betts recruiters to conduct in-depth screening processes that evaluated local candidates for grit, coachability, and an ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
This model also gave Splashtop access to Betts Connect, a proprietary, AI-powered sourcing platform featuring one of the largest GTM talent pools in North America. The tool’s predictive analytics allow recruiters and hiring managers to quickly identify candidates who meet specific requirements across KPIs like quota attainment, deal size, and industries sold to, streamlining sourcing and reducing Splashtop’s average time-to-hire to just two weeks.
With roots in San Francisco, Betts is your go-to partner for securing the best candidates in the local talent pool. Drawing on deep AI expertise and startup fluency, the firm is well positioned to connect SDRs who are both technically qualified and strong culture fits, equipping teams for rapid growth.
2. TheLIONS
Founded in 2010 by a former sales leader at a $100 million startup, TheLIONS leverages its Bay Area roots and deep AI expertise to place top sales candidates with fast-growing tech companies.
TheLIONS is a values-driven firm with a robust network of “lions” known for accountability, independence, and drive. Its strong partnerships with many prominent venture capital firms further underscore its credibility within the industry.
Tech Sales Talent has partnered with small- and mid-sized tech companies since 2016 to place sales, sales engineering, marketing, and leadership talent across the SaaS, AI, data, cyber, hardware, and IoT sectors.
Recruiters prioritize candidates whose experience with customers, products, and deal sizes aligns with your go-to-market motion, reducing onboarding time. The firm also assesses each candidate’s motivations and outside commitments to ensure that they are genuinely interested and ready to contribute from day one.
4. Rocket
Founded in 2017, Rocket leverages its San Francisco roots and founder-centric approach to recruit across functions for startups from Series A to IPO. Its founders draw on experience building and scaling Bay Area companies to provide practical guidance and solutions.
The firm models its recruiting process on a product iteration, emphasizing hypothesis testing and data-informed decisions. Recruiters collect ongoing feedback from your hiring team to continuously refine each search.
5. The Search Experience
Based in San Francisco, The Search Experience has recruited GTM and technical talent for high-growth, product-led startups across North America and APAC since 2019, with a focus on AI, DevTools, and cybersecurity.
The firm partners closely with technical founders, blending business strategy with startup expertise to serve as an embedded extension of your team. Its consultative approach is particularly valuable when seeking SDRs who align with your runway, growth stage, and revenue goals.
6. Premier Talent Partners
Founded in 1998, Bay Area-based Premier Talent Partners applies an “industry-agnostic” approach to recruit GTM, administrative, and professional services candidates. The firm has supported clients in over 65 industries, giving it access to diverse networks and broad market expertise.
Recruiters leverage their knowledge of various business models, regulations, and markets to identify SDR candidates with transferable skills such as communication, adaptability, relationship-building, and data fluency.
7. Quest Groups
Founded in 2001, Quest Groups partners with high-growth, venture-backed startups nationwide to place candidates across the GTM, product, finance, and engineering functions. The firm leverages its startup fluency, a team-based recruiting model, and industry relationships to help companies scale efficiently for long-term growth.
For each search, Quest Groups assigns a team of recruiters, with each recruiter specializing in a specific location or role. The firm has received the majority of its business through referrals, underscoring strong trust among candidates, clients, and venture capital firms.
8. 80Twenty
Founded in 2012, 80Twenty is a boutique staffing firm that recruits marketing, sales, tech, finance, operations, and creative talent for startups in the Bay Area. The firm maintains a strong presence throughout California, providing deep market expertise and direct access to local talent.
Recruiters headhunt approximately 80% of candidates and place a strong emphasis on cultural alignment. The team also offers compensation consultation and job description support to ensure each role is competitive, well-positioned, and clearly differentiated.
9. Rainmakers
Hiring teams have relied on Rainmakers, a sales-exclusive sourcing platform, to secure elite candidates nationwide since 2017. Both candidates and companies must apply for access, helping maintain a credible marketplace for employers.
The platform features more than 350,000 pre-vetted professionals across a range of tech and software domains, with strong SDR representation in the Bay Area. Candidates outline their achievements, experience, and role preferences in their profiles, while companies bid on individuals who meet their hiring criteria.
Each profile includes over forty data points highlighting previous sales experience, deal sizes, specific products sold, and the types of buyers candidates have worked with.
10. salestalent.com
Founded in 2021, salestalent.com exclusively recruits permanent sales candidates for tech, SaaS, medical, and industrial organizations. Each recruiter, including the founder, is a former sales executive and limited to three searches at a time, enabling fast, highly focused execution.
Drawing on deep role expertise, recruiters assess which category of SDR best aligns with your organization, whether that is a recent college graduate, an early- or second-career professional, or an experienced salesperson. For each search, they target 100 to 300 passive candidates and present three to five qualified prospects within two weeks.
Compensation Trends for SDRs in AI in San Francisco
San Francisco-based SDRs earn comparable average base salaries and on-target earnings (OTE) to their peers in other regions. Base salaries, however, tend to be slightly higher in San Francisco for SDRs with six months of experience or more.
| NY / SF | Pacific | Mountain | Central | Eastern | Remote | |
| Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | |
| SDR (Recent Grad) | $50-$70K | $80-$90K | $55-$70K | $80-$90K | $55-$70K | $70-$85K | $55-$70K | $70-$85K | $55-$65K | $75-$90K | $50-$70K | $70-$95K |
| SDR (6 Months+) | $60-$80K | $80-$100K | $60-$75K | $85-$100K | $60-$70K | $85-$100K | $60-$75K | $80-$100K | $65-$80K | $85-$100K | $60-$80K | $85-$100K |
Our annual Compensation, Enterprise Compensation, and Executive Compensation guides provide in-depth insights into the market trends influencing these ranges. Meanwhile, our proprietary Comp Engine offers visibility into current benchmarks across all GTM roles, based on data from placements made within the last six months.
Seeking technically-savvy SDRs in San Francisco? Contact Betts to get started today.