The Business of AI-Producing Startups: Evidence from a Worldwide Survey

Authors

• James Bessen, Boston University School of LawFollow
• Stephen Michael Impink, New York University - Leonard N. Stern School of Business
• Robert Seamans, New York University - Leonard N. Stern School of Business

Author granted license

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

3-17-2026

Editor(s)

Felipe A. Csaszar & Nan Jia

ISBN

9781035345878

Publisher

Edward Elger Publishing

Language

en-US

Abstract

We report results from a multi-year, worldwide survey of artificial intelligence (AI)-producing startups to describe the types of technologies, frameworks, data protection, and partnerships nascent firms use to develop their AI products. Analyses of our survey findings also inform how startups gather the resources to commercialize their AI applications in alignment with their entrepreneurial strategies, address competitive barriers, and respond to regulations. These data provide initial evidence of the perceived impact of these products on their customers’ tasks and industries, suggesting that these firms’ AI products not only reduce labor costs but augment human capabilities.

Recommended Citation

James Bessen, Stephen M. Impink & Robert Seamans, The Business of AI-Producing Startups: Evidence from a Worldwide Survey , in Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and Strategy 318 (Felipe A. Csaszar & Nan Jia ed., 2026).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/4245