Goldman Sachs has launched a Small Business AI Institute with Anthropic, Google, Meta and OpenAI as partners, as part of a new $500 million commitment to expand its 10,000 Small Businesses program to another 10,000 entrepreneurs. Why it matters: the four biggest consumer-facing AI companies are now jointly training Main Street businesses, and Goldman’s own survey says most small businesses use AI but very few have built it into how they actually run.
October 22, 2026
What happened
Goldman Sachs announced the institute on Thursday, October 22, describing it as a significant extension of 10,000 Small Businesses, the education and support program it has run since 2010. The new $500 million commitment funds the program’s next chapter — education, access to capital and support services for another 10,000 businesses — and the institute is the AI-focused piece of that expansion. Goldman says nearly 20,000 entrepreneurs have completed the program so far, and that its graduates together represent more than $32 billion in annual revenue and over 350,000 jobs.
What each AI partner is actually doing
This is not just four logos on a press release; each partner has a named job. Anthropic will build a learning series on applied AI for small businesses, run hands-on workshops for program alumni, and collaborate on research into small business AI use. Google will deliver its Grow with Google AI Professional certificate to almost 20,000 small business owners and their employees, including three months of no-cost access to Google AI Pro. Meta will support entrepreneurs with AI tools and training through Muse for Small Business, its recently launched small business assistant. OpenAI will run tailored AI workshops around the country with the program’s community college partners. The institute itself will work on three things: AI education for owners, published research on how small businesses use AI, and AI-enabled ways to expand access to capital.
The gap the institute is aimed at
Goldman released survey results from more than 2,400 program graduates alongside the launch. Eighty-six percent said they already use AI in their business, up sharply from 56 percent in 2024 — but only 15 percent said AI is fully integrated into their core operations, and more than three-quarters said they could use more training and resources. In other words, adoption is broad and shallow: owners have tried the tools, but most have not rebuilt a workflow around them.
Why it matters
For small business owners, the practical takeaway is free, structured training from the companies that make the tools — a certificate course, vendor-run workshops, and three months of Google AI Pro at no cost — rather than another round of hype about AI replacing them. For the AI companies, the institute is a distribution channel into thousands of real businesses that buy software and hire people. And the survey numbers are the honest part of the story: the bottleneck for small business AI in late 2026 is not access to models, it is training and integration, which is exactly what programs like this sell. Everything AI, tested — we will be watching whether the workshops produce measurable results or stay at the certificate level.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Goldman Sachs Small Business AI Institute?
It is a new AI training and research initiative inside Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program, launched October 22, 2026 with Anthropic, Google, Meta and OpenAI as partners.
Is the $500 million all for AI?
No. The $500 million funds the next chapter of 10,000 Small Businesses overall — education, access to capital and support services for another 10,000 businesses. The AI Institute is part of that expansion.
What do small business owners actually get?
An Anthropic-built learning series and alumni workshops, Google’s Grow with Google AI Professional certificate (offered to almost 20,000 owners and employees, with three months of no-cost Google AI Pro), Meta AI tools and training through Muse for Small Business, and OpenAI workshops delivered with community college partners.
How many small businesses already use AI?
In Goldman’s survey of more than 2,400 program graduates, 86 percent reported using AI in their business, up from 56 percent in 2024, but only 15 percent said it is fully integrated into their core operations.
Sources: Goldman Sachs announcement (via Business Wire), October 22, 2026; NBC News coverage of the launch.