The world is no stranger to the power of artificial intelligence. For years, AI has amazed us with its ability to process information faster than any human, predict trends before they happen, and even create art that moves people.
But now, something new and very human is taking place.
AI is no longer seen as just a mere tool; it is now becoming a partner–not a therapist, but a solid business partner. It is helping to start companies, shape ideas, and give everyday people without technical skills the power to turn a small spark of inspiration into a real business.
‘AI became my co-founder’
One such example is Sarah Gwilliam, who never learned to code, nor does she “speak AI,” as she puts it. But when her father passed away, she found herself facing the chaos of funeral arrangements and estate matters—an overwhelming task in a time of grief. That’s when an idea took hold: what if there was a service that made this process easier for others? Call it wedding planning, but for funerals, a foreign media report quoted her as saying.
Her company, Solace, is still in its infancy, but Sarah is far from alone. She joined Audos, an AI-powered incubator that believed in her vision. From setting up a website to launching an Instagram presence, AI agents handled the work. If her idea succeeds, Audos will provide not only funding but also continuous AI support for product development, sales, marketing, and back-office operations—all in exchange for a royalty.
“It was empowering,” Sarah pointed. “AI didn’t just help me start a business—it became my co-founder.”
Can solo founders break free from big tech’s orbit?
In Silicon Valley, there’s already a word for entrepreneurs like Sarah: solopreneurs. Investors are even placing bets on which one will become the first “single-person unicorn”–a startup valued at over $1 billion. Advocates of generative AI see a future where starting a business is as simple and accessible as launching a YouTube channel.
But there’s a question hanging in the air: can these one-person startups escape the gravitational pull of tech giants like Google and Amazon?
A shift decades in making
History shows that technology has always changed the way businesses work. In the late 1800s, the growth of machinery and transport networks led to the rise of large corporations. British economist Ronald Coase explained in his 1937 paper The Nature of the Firm that companies expanded because it was more efficient to manage work inside the business rather than outsourcing it.
This began to change with the arrival of the internet. Digital communication made it easy for companies to outsource not only manufacturing but also services like marketing and IT to teams around the world. Tools such as Google Ads and Amazon Web Services became the backbone of modern business.
