AI may be turning experienced workers into new business owners

The typical startup founder may not be a 22-year-old with a laptop. Visa says the average founder of the fastest-growing U.S. startups is about 45. Its new analysis argues that AI could push more experienced workers to turn what they know into a business of their own.

What changed

Visa points to a mix of forces. Careers are lasting longer, but traditional jobs feel less predictable. Many people also want more flexibility, and some face money or family caregiving pressures. Online payments, cloud services and generative AI (software that can write, design and code) make it cheaper to test an idea, find customers and run a business with a small team.

Who it affects

The group Visa highlights is millennials, now in their 30s and 40s. Many have built industry knowledge, professional contacts and a clear sense of what customers struggle with. Interest is there: 54 percent of millennials worldwide say they would love to start a business. That is 5 percentage points higher than for Gen X or Gen Z.

What the data shows

Visa looked at its payment network data. Since 2022, new businesses have grown as a share of all active businesses in nearly every major sector. The change is measured between 2022 to 2023 and 2024 to 2025. These sectors showed the biggest gains:

• Information: about 12 percentage points
• Entertainment: roughly 10 points
• Transport and manufacturing: around 9 points
• Education: roughly 8 points, with retail trade smallest at about 3

Information and entertainment are areas where AI can help with software, design, content and marketing. U.S. business applications also remain high. They jumped to above 500,000 around mid-2020 and ended slightly above 500,000 in August 2026.

What it means for lenders

Visa describes a new kind of small business: younger, leaner, more digital and often global from day one. These firms may have no storefront, few employees and little credit history. That makes them hard to judge with traditional lending checks. Visa suggests payments data could show real-time activity and cash flow. It also says businesses using AI tools show stronger spending growth and more digital activity than those that do not.

What is not known yet

The evidence is early, and Visa uses cautious words such as may and could. The analysis comes from Visa, a payments company, and its own data. It does not prove that AI is the cause of the rise in new businesses. It also does not say how many of these new businesses will last.