Goldman Sachs launches small-business AI institute with four major AI partners

Small-business owners will get AI training and tools from four major developers through a new Goldman Sachs initiative. The bank announced its Small Business AI Institute on October 22, pairing Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta with an existing entrepreneurship program whose surveyed graduates report widespread AI use but much less integration into core operations.

The institute is part of a $500 million expansion of Goldman’s 10,000 Small Businesses program, which educates and supports entrepreneurs. That figure covers the broader program expansion, not just the newly named institute. Goldman said the four technology companies would partner with it to provide entrepreneurs with AI training and tools.

Goldman CEO David Solomon framed adopting new technology as a competitive necessity in an interview with NBC News. Businesses need to work out how technology can improve what they do, he said, warning that those unwilling to engage risk falling behind.

Using AI is not the same as embedding it

A Goldman survey described in NBC’s coverage helps explain the institute’s focus. Among more than 2,400 graduates of the bank’s small-business program, 86% said they were using AI in their businesses, compared with 56% in 2024. Only 15% said they had fully integrated it into core operations. Those results describe program alumni, not a survey of all U.S. small businesses.

86%Using AI

Share reporting AI use in Goldman’s survey of more than 2,400 program graduates.

15%Fully integrated AI

Share saying AI was fully integrated into their core business operations in the same survey.

An earlier, separate Goldman survey had already identified demand for this kind of support. Published on March 17, it covered 1,256 participants in 10,000 Small Businesses. Babson College and David Binder Research conducted it from January 27 through February 4, 2026, with respondents from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

In that earlier group, 76% reported using AI, while 14% said it was fully embedded in core operations. Respondents cited a lack of technical expertise, difficulty choosing tools and concerns about data privacy as barriers to deeper integration. Seventy-three percent said additional access to training and implementation resources would help them.

That demand coexisted with positive assessments from people already using the technology. In the March release, Goldman said 93% of AI users reported a positive business impact, and 84% cited greater efficiency and productivity as the main benefit. These were owners’ reported experiences, rather than independently measured gains in revenue or output.

Owners draw boundaries around the help they want

For Rechelle Balanzat, founder of laundry-services app Juliette and a Goldman program alumna, AI’s role includes preparing for professional advice. She told NBC News that it helps her develop more meaningful questions for her accountant and lawyer. She does not see it as a replacement for either professional, or for people generally.

Mike DiMarino, who heads Brooklyn precision-components maker Linda Tool, sees potential in planning, management and business processes. But he is cautious because the company handles sensitive information in its defense, aerospace and manufacturing work. His interest in broader uses sits alongside a practical concern about what information the business can safely expose.

Both owners told NBC they want AI to support employees rather than replace them. That preference also appeared in Goldman’s earlier survey: 87% said AI augments rather than replaces employees. The appetite for help, in these accounts, is tied to making existing businesses and their people more effective—not simply handing work over to software.