Goldman Sachs on October 22, 2026 launched a Small Business AI Institute as part of a new $500 million commitment to fund the next chapter of 10,000 Small Businesses and deliver education, access to capital and support services to another 10,000 businesses. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta will provide training and tools. Chief executive David Solomon said there is “very little that we do where we need frontier models,” and that the return can come from productivity.
Key Takeaways
- Goldman committed $500 million for another 10,000 businesses.
- OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta will provide training and tools.
- 86% of graduates reported using AI, up from 56% in 2024.
- Only 15% said AI is fully integrated into core operations.
What the Small Business AI Institute Will Cover
The institute extends a program Goldman has run since 2010, the firm said in Goldman’s announcement. Nearly 20,000 entrepreneurs across all 50 states and four U.S. territories have completed 10,000 Small Businesses, backed by an earlier $1.25 billion commitment. Graduates add jobs four times faster than similarly sized U.S. businesses and together represent more than $32 billion in annual revenue and over 350,000 jobs.
“Goldman Sachs has invested in small businesses for more than 15 years, because that is where job creation happens,” Solomon said. “Every major technology shift has rewarded the businesses that adapt most quickly.” The commitment’s deliverables are education, access to capital and support services.
The Institute will focus on three pillars:
- Delivering high-quality AI education to small business owners across the country
- Publishing research on AI use by small businesses
- Supporting AI-enabled expansions to access to capital for small businesses
“The AI economy is a small business economy,” said Asahi Pompey, global head of corporate engagement, in the announcement. Initial activities described in the announcement include:
- Anthropic: a learning series on applied AI for small businesses, alumni workshops and research collaborations.
- Google: its Grow with Google AI Professional certificate for almost 20,000 owners and employees, including three months of no-cost access to Google AI Pro.
- Meta: AI tools and training through Muse for Small Business.
- OpenAI: tailored AI workshops with the program’s community college partners.
How Far Small Business AI Adoption Has Gone
NBC News, citing Goldman, said 86 percent of more than 2,400 graduates reported using AI in their businesses, up from 56 percent in 2024. Only 15 percent said that AI is fully integrated into their core operations, according to Goldman. The table below follows Fortune’s launch readout, via DNYUZ, of the Babson College alumni survey conducted in August 2026.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Graduates who reported using AI | 86%, up from 56% in 2024 |
| Graduates who said AI is fully integrated into core operations | 15% |
| Graduates who said they would benefit from more training and resources | 77% |
| AI users who said they spend less than $100 a month | 73%, including 16% who use only free tools |
| AI users on chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini | 86% |
| AI users on AI features in software they already use | 54% |
| AI users on agentic AI | 18% |
| Among graduates using AI: no workforce change; added positions; cut staff | 84%; 5%; 6% |
Asked what they do with the time AI saves, Fortune reported, 56 percent of AI-using graduates pointed to strategic planning, 44 percent to expanded marketing and 31 percent to new products or services.
What Solomon Said About Frontier Models
“But there’s very little that we do where we need frontier models,” Solomon told the launch, Fortune reported. He said frontier models matter for cybersecurity, for defense and for health care, such as around drug discovery and molecule formation.
The security fights and the “bigger picture frontier issues that are getting a lot of attention,” he said, “are really separate from using the base tools that exist to support your businesses.”
“At the moment, this is an expensive technology,” he said. He said he does not think you have to say, “I have to have this figured out in the next three weeks.”
He said the return can come from productivity in sales, customer experience, manufacturing and procurement. “The important thing is to get it right, not to get it quicker.”
In an NBC News interview he also said, “You’ve got to embrace new technology always, because if you’re not embracing it, trying to figure out how it can make your businesses better, there’s a real chance that you can fall behind.” At the launch, Fortune reported, he argued, “it’s not limiting the job, but it’s creating more leverage in the business without a fixed cost base.” See also how American Express is handling an AI reset.
Training, Spend and Access to Capital
Goldman said more than three-quarters of graduates could use additional training and resources. Solomon said, “Access to capital continues to be a constraint.” Crypto Briefing noted that integration often requires spending on software, data cleanup and staff time that small firms struggle to fund.
