On Main Street, Goldman Sachs makes a bet on AI

Goldman Sachs partners with OpenAI, Google, Meta and Anthropic to boost AI adoption among small businesses.

Artificial intelligence is already a huge business for Wall Street. But how is it playing on Main Street? Goldman Sachs, as part of a philanthropic effort, is spending big in an attempt to help ensure smaller employers get in on it. The bank announced Thursday that it has launched the Small Business AI Institute as part of a $500 million expansion of its 10,000 Small Businesses, a program geared toward educating and supporting entrepreneurs. It said it would partner with Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta to provide AI training and tools to small businesses. “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,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said in an exclusive interview for NBC News’ Business in America series.

It’s a pivotal moment for the AI wave and its financial backers, including Goldman. The technology is broadly available to consumers, and U.S. economic growth increasingly depends on the buildup of data centers. “We believe AI will create the greatest boom in entrepreneurship and small businesses that the world has ever seen,” Sam Altman, CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, said in an announcement from Goldman Sachs. “This is an incredible moment for anyone with an idea