David Solomon spent Thursday announcing a $500 million AI push alongside four of the companies building the most powerful models in the world. Then he told the room that most of the economy doesn\u2019t need those models.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrontier models and how frontier models develop is going to be a very, very interesting thing,\u201d the Goldman Sachs<\/a> CEO told the crowd at the launch of the firm\u2019s new Small Business AI Institute at the bank\u2019s headquarters in lower Manhattan, where Fortune was in attendance. \u201cBut there\u2019s very little that we do where we need frontier models,\u201d he added, seeming to speak generally of economic activity, in the context of small business.<\/p>\n \u201cThe technology is moving very, very quickly, and the technology is going to continue to move quickly,\u201d Solomon said. But \u201cyou have to separate at some level\u201d the development of frontier models from the everyday tools businesses actually use, he added.<\/p>\n Frontier models, he said, matter for cybersecurity, for defense, and for health care, such as around drug discovery and molecule formation. The security fights and the \u201cbigger-picture frontier issues that are getting a lot of attention,\u201d Solomon said, \u201care really separate from using the base tools that exist to support your businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n The AI institute is part of a new $500 million commitment to fund the next chapter of Goldman\u2019s 10,000 Small Businesses program, which will deliver education, access to capital, and support services, according to the bank\u2019s announcement. Nearly 20,000 entrepreneurs have completed the program since it launched in 2010, part of an earlier $1.25 billion commitment. Small businesses make up 99% of U.S. businesses, a \u201chugely important ecosystem,\u201d Solomon said.<\/p>\n Anthropic, Google, Meta<\/a>, and OpenAI each have a piece of it. Anthropic will build a learning series on applied AI for small businesses; run hands-on workshops for program alumni; and collaborate on research into how small businesses use AI. Google will offer its Grow With Google AI Professional certificate to almost 20,000 small-business owners and employees, with three months of free access to Google AI Pro. Meta will provide AI tools and training through Muse for Small Business, and OpenAI will run AI workshops through the program\u2019s community college partners.<\/p>\n Slow down<\/p>\n Solomon\u2019s advice to small-business owners ran against the urgency the AI industry usually sells.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, this is an expensive technology,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that you have to look at the world and say, \u2018I\u2019ve got to be the best at this; I have to have this figured out in the next three weeks.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He framed it as a return-on-investment problem. \u201cIf you think about token costs and you think about the cost of being on these platforms, the return can come from productivity,\u201d he said, listing sales, customer experience, manufacturing, and procurement as places to look. \u201cThe important thing is to get it right, not to get it quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n Most of the owners in Goldman\u2019s own survey aren\u2019t spending much yet. In a report released alongside the announcement, 73% of program graduates who use AI said they spend less than $100 a month on it, including 16% who use only free tools. Most rely on chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini (86%) or AI features built into software they already use (54%). Only 18% use agentic AI.<\/p>\n Adoption itself isn\u2019t the problem. The survey, conducted by Babson College in August, found 86% now use AI in their businesses, up from 56% in 2024. But only 15% said AI is fully integrated into their core operations, and 77% said they would benefit from more training and resources.<\/p>\n \u2018Without a fixed cost base\u2019<\/p>\n Goldman\u2019s pitch for the institute centers on productivity. An owner doing more strategy work would typically hire a strategy consultant, but AI enables them to advance that work without actually hiring somebody. \u201cSo it\u2019s not limiting the job, but it\u2019s creating more leverage in the business without a fixed cost base,\u201d Solomon argued.<\/p>\n Goldman\u2019s survey backs him up, for now. Among graduates using AI, 84% reported no change in their workforce because of it. Five percent said they had added positions, and 6% said they had cut staff. Asked what they do with the time AI saves, 56% pointed to strategic planning, 44% to expanded marketing, and 31% to new products or services.<\/p>\n The small-business owners onstage described AI as augmentation.<\/p>\n