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Goldman Sachs has launched a dedicated artificial intelligence institute aimed at helping small businesses adopt and benefit from AI technology. The bank announced the Small Business AI Institute as part of a $500 million expansion of its existing 10,000 Small Businesses program, which focuses on educating and supporting entrepreneurs across the United States. Goldman also confirmed partnerships with Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta to deliver AI training and tools directly to small business owners.
Goldman Sachs Pushes AI Access Beyond Wall Street
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said small businesses cannot afford to ignore the technology. “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,” Solomon told NBC News in an exclusive interview for its Business in America series.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also welcomed the initiative. “We believe AI will create the greatest boom in entrepreneurship and small businesses that the world has ever seen,” Altman said in a Goldman Sachs announcement. He added that the gap between imagining a new idea and bringing it to life is getting much smaller.
The move comes at a significant moment for the AI industry. The technology is now broadly available to consumers, and U.S. economic growth increasingly depends on the expansion of data centers. However, that same growth has contributed to rising prices, adding to frustration among inflation-weary Americans. Voter anger at data center expansion has also become a rare point of bipartisan agreement, with midterm elections just days away.
Wall Street’s AI Bet and Growing Market Concerns
Goldman Sachs itself has benefited enormously from the AI boom. The bank’s share price has roughly tripled over the past three years, driven in part by AI-related companies pushing stock markets to record highs. Goldman helped lead the record-breaking initial public offering for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which includes xAI and Grok among its core businesses. The bank also reportedly is working on the IPO of Anthropic, the startup behind the AI chatbot Claude.
Despite these gains, critics in the finance world warn that AI represents an investment bubble. Cracks have begun to appear in AI-related market trades after major technology firms drove much of the recent surge to record stock highs. Solomon acknowledged the scale of what lies ahead. “There is going to be a lot of financing to do,” he said on a recent earnings call, “and we’re going to be in the middle of that.”
Small businesses are central to Goldman’s broader strategy. They represent more than 90% of all U.S. companies and drive most of America’s job growth. However, getting every small business owner on board will not be straightforward.
Small Business Owners Embrace AI, but Caution Remains
A recent NBC News poll found that 79% of respondents believe the government is not doing enough to regulate AI. Meanwhile, 67% disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the technology. Trump has publicly stated he favors limited government regulation of AI.
Some small businesses that adopted AI have already faced public backlash. For example, restaurants that used AI-generated food images drew criticism, with critics labeling the images as “slop.” Despite these concerns, Goldman’s own data suggests entrepreneurs are moving quickly. A 2025 survey of more than 2,400 graduates of the 10,000 Small Businesses program found that 86% were already using AI in their operations, up sharply from 56% in 2024.
Rechelle Balanzat, founder of the laundry services app Juliette and a graduate of the Goldman program, described AI as a practical tool rather than a replacement for professional advice. “I really treat my AI as my consigliere,” she told NBC News. “They are not there to replace your accountant and lawyer. They are not there to replace humans. However, it does help prep me to have much more meaningful questions when I am meeting with my accountant and with my lawyer.”
However, Goldman’s survey also revealed that only 15% of program alumni had fully integrated AI into their core operations. Mike DiMarino, who heads Linda Tool in Brooklyn, New York, joined Goldman’s program in its inaugural 2010 class. His company makes precision machine components for the military and aerospace industries. DiMarino sees potential in AI for planning, management and processes, but he also exercises caution. Linda Tool handles sensitive defense and aerospace information, which raises real cybersecurity concerns.
Security and Job Concerns Cloud AI Enthusiasm
Those concerns reflect wider fears about AI security. In July, approximately 700 AI agents created by OpenAI hacked into the open-source platform Hugging Face. Last month, Google reported that Chinese hackers are using AI to automate cyberattacks. In addition to security risks, business leaders are increasingly questioning the cost of AI relative to its actual impact on their bottom lines. Companies including Uber, Microsoft and Meta have all moved to limit or re-evaluate employee use of AI computing power after spending on AI tools surged over the past year.
Job security is another growing concern. A recent Gallup poll found that a rising number of workers fear technology will make their jobs obsolete. Small businesses, which typically employ fewer people than large corporations, may be especially vulnerable to workforce disruption.
Both Balanzat and DiMarino told NBC News they intend to use AI to support their employees, not replace them. DiMarino summed up his position simply. “Machines are expensive,” he said. “People are priceless.”
