OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes AI could spark a new wave of small businesses, but the tech industry has a lot of work to do convincing entrepreneurs how the technology can help.
Speaking on the David Senra podcast, Altman suggested AI could help break down traditional barriers for entrepreneurs, particularly in terms of financing and technical capabilities.
“Even if most people don’t want to start really big companies, a lot of people want to start smaller companies, and that has been hard,” he said.
“That has been something that has required a fair amount of privilege, and luck, and resources to be able to do. We are about to see the greatest boom in people starting smaller businesses that we have ever seen. I think AI is empowering that.”
Altman’s optimistic outlook is reflected in recent research conducted by OpenAI. A survey by the firm highlighted a strong appetite for AI tools among small businesses across the UK. Eight-in-ten small businesses across the country now use the technology in daily operations, OpenAI found, although the study warned that uptake varies widely on a region-by-region basis.
Notably, Altman told Senra that OpenAI and the broader tech industry hasn’t quite emphasized the potential benefits of AI to entrepreneurs and small businesses in recent years. The focus has largely been on larger organizations and how the technology is impacting operations in those domains.
“For some reason the field, including us, has not talked about that enough, even though we see all the signs of it,” he said. “We have not built enough products to accelerate that, but I think we’re going to see a lot more of that.”
Some SMBs Are Pulling Ahead
Altman’s comments come in the wake of recent research from Dell Technologies which found small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly optimistic about the impact of AI.
The study found two-thirds (66%) of UK small businesses view AI as a “route to growth,” while more than half (56%) believe the technology will give them a competitive advantage.
Brian Horsburgh, UK small business country manager at Dell Technologies, noted that small businesses have a significant advantage over larger companies in terms of adoption. Smaller firms are far more agile and typically more flexible in how they integrate the technology into daily operations — a fact reflected in their higher rate of successful adoption projects.
Larger companies, by contrast, tend to cite a broader range of barriers when it comes to adoption, including lengthy approval processes, fear of failure, and resistance to change across the workforce. For entrepreneurs and small business owners, the relative absence of those friction points may prove to be AI’s most meaningful advantage.
