Key Takeaways
- A billion-dollar company run by just one person could emerge as early as 2026, according to Anthropic’s CEO.
- Powerful AI tools are increasingly capable of handling complex tasks like coding, research, and customer service, making solo ventures more feasible.
- New AI models, such as Anthropic’s Claude 4 series, are boosting these capabilities for businesses and startups.
- Industries that don’t heavily rely on human interaction are seen as early candidates for such AI-driven efficiency.
Could one person, armed with artificial intelligence, build a billion-dollar company? Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, believes so, and he thinks it could happen by 2026. He made this striking prediction at Anthropic’s recent developer conference, Code with Claude.
AI is already showing proficiency in tasks vital for launching a business, including writing, coding, and reasoning. Anthropic recently unveiled its latest AI models, Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4, designed to be even better at these tasks and support more autonomous operations.
Amodei suggests that businesses in sectors not centered on human interaction or large institutional needs will be the first to see this kind of super-efficiency. He pointed to software development tools or specialized training companies as examples where AI could manage most operations, including customer service through automated responses.
While a bold claim, the idea isn’t as far-fetched as it might sound, according to Mike Krieger, Anthropic’s Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Instagram. “I built a billion-dollar company with 13 people, and that was 13 years ago,” Krieger noted in a press Q&A, as reported by ZDNET.
Krieger mentioned that with today’s AI, he and his co-founder might have built Instagram with even fewer people, as AI could have handled much of the engineering and content moderation.
A key driver behind this potential shift is the rise of “AI agents” – AI systems that can perform tasks autonomously with minimal human guidance. These are becoming increasingly capable.
For instance, Anthropic’s advanced Claude Opus 4 model was built for sustained work on complex projects. One of their clients, Rakuten, used an AI agent to refactor code independently for seven hours straight. This is roughly equivalent to a full day’s work for a human, completed without breaks or a dip in performance.
As these AI agents improve, they could significantly fuel innovation and empower a new wave of startups. Krieger reflected on past challenges, stating, “Our famously small team had to make really painful either/or decisions.” He added, “With AI agents, startups can now run experiments in parallel.” This allows small teams to explore more opportunities simultaneously.
