AI Agents and the One-Person Unicorn

This month, Paul Sawers published an insightful article on TechCrunch, raising the question of whether AI agents could empower a solo entrepreneur to build a billion-dollar business. The idea isn’t far-fetched—recent advancements in AI automation have made it increasingly feasible for individuals to scale businesses that would have traditionally required large teams. But while the technology is undeniably progressing, the societal implications of AI-powered enterprises are just as critical to consider.

The Rise of AI-Driven Enterprises

AI agents are reshaping the way businesses operate by embedding human workflows into software. Unlike traditional automation, these agents can execute tasks independently, make decisions, and collaborate with other AI agents, all while improving efficiency and scalability. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted this shift, stating: “In my little group chat with my tech CEO friends, there’s this betting pool for the first year that there is a one-person billion-dollar company. Which would have been unimaginable without AI — and now [it] will happen.”

Historically, businesses with lean headcounts have commanded enormous valuations. Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion when it had just 55 employees. Microsoft bought Minecraft creator Mojang for $2.5 billion, despite it having only 40 employees. But these examples still involved teams—AI agents, however, open the door for true single-person businesses with the operational capacity of entire companies.

The Human Element Still Matters

While AI can handle many technical and operational tasks, building and selling a successful product is more than just developing software or automating workflows.

Kanjun Qiu, CEO of AI research lab Imbue, noted that AI-powered solo businesses would likely work best for consumer or prosumer products that don’t rely on large sales teams. “I think go-to-market is actually one of the places where it’s going to be difficult to automate all of these relationships with other people.”

Human trust plays a crucial role in business. The most successful companies aren’t always those with the best products, but those that build strong relationships with customers, partners, and investors. This is why, despite the capabilities of AI, sales-driven industries are unlikely to be fully automated in the near future.

AI Agents as Workforce Replacements

Beyond solo enterprises, AI agents are already being integrated into corporate structures. Companies like Artisan and Cognition AI are actively developing AI-powered sales and engineering agents. HR platform Lattice has gone a step further—allowing AI workers to be formally recognized as employees within company org charts.

Lattice CEO Sarah Franklin called this a “great new age of collaboration,” where humans and AI work together seamlessly. “It’s not saying that AI is human; it’s more that we need to clearly identify where AI is. As AI speaks on behalf of brands and people, makes decisions on behalf of brands and people, and integrates with other systems, we need to be able to track that.”

Is Society Ready for an AI Workforce?

While some argue that job creation will balance job losses, others worry that AI’s rapid development is outpacing human adaptability. AI drug development company Formation Bio’s CEO, Benjamine Liu, emphasized the speed of change: “There’s something quite unique about the pace of developments and how quickly these models are getting better, specifically where we’re seeing these AI systems do the work of entire teams.”

For now, AI-driven businesses remain experimental, but the idea of the one-person unicorn is no longer pure science fiction. The challenge isn’t just about whether it’s possible—it’s about whether businesses, investors, and society are ready to embrace this fundamental shift in the way companies operate.

References

• Paul Sawyers (2025). AI agents could birth the first one-person unicorn — but at what societal cost? TechCrunch. Available online. Accessed 2 February 2025.