Starting a business has become a lot easier — here’s why 5.7 million Americans took the leap last year

It’s a good time to open a business. There were 5.7 million applications to start new businesses filed last year — the most in two decades of government tracking — and 2026 is on pace to beat it, the New York Times reports.

What’s behind the boom? That two-letter word: AI. A University of British Columbia study found generative AI is “spurring entrepreneurial activity” by making it cheaper and faster to get a business off the ground.

For example, Cassidy Winkler, a former flight attendant, used ChatGPT to help her build a business plan, name and logo for her Pilates studio, Revel Method Pilates, which now has three locations, 65 employees and a fourth studio on the way.

But Winkler is an exception. Most of these new business applications are for companies that aren’t likely to hire anyone at all. AI is letting more solo founders skip building a team altogether.

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