Nasdaq Launches Economic Institute: Generative AI Fuels Surge in Solo Entrepreneurship
Nasdaq launched the Nasdaq Economic Institute, revealing in its inaugural AI report that generative AI is lowering barriers to entry and driving a surge in solo
On June 9, 2026, Nasdaq, Inc. officially announced the launch of the Nasdaq Economic Institute, a dedicated research platform designed to help policymakers, regulators, and market participants better understand the dynamics shaping capital markets and the broader financial ecosystem.
Image source: Nasdaq (@Nasdaq) / X
The newly established Institute serves as an independent forum for original research, expert economic analysis, and convening market participants, regulators, and policymakers across critical macroeconomic areas. Alongside its formal launch, the Institute introduced its inaugural AI Research Series, exploring how generative artificial intelligence is lowering barriers to entry for entrepreneurs and driving a historic surge in new business formation.
Three Core Research Pillars: Capital Formation, Market Modernization, and Financial Resiliency
The Nasdaq Economic Institute focuses its research agenda and stakeholder convening across three core areas:
- Capital Formation: Examining corporate financing mechanisms and the broader dynamics of capital access.
- Market Modernization: Evaluating market structure evolution, transparent data ecosystems, and exchange infrastructure.
- Financial Resiliency: Analyzing systemic stability, risk management frameworks, and macroeconomic shock absorption.
Jeremy Skule, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Nasdaq, emphasized the strategic rationale: "Better markets are built on better insights. At a time when economies, technologies and capital flows are evolving at unprecedented speed, the need for rigorous, independence and data driven economic research has never been greater. Nasdaq has always been at the intersection of technology, innovation and capital formation and we are expanding that commitment by helping define and shape the conversations of the future."
Inaugural AI Research Series: Generative AI Driving Solo Entrepreneurship
The Institute's premiere publication in its AI Research Series examines how generative AI is lowering barriers to entry and accelerating new business creation.
The report highlights that the recent surge in entrepreneurship is largely propelled by solo operators. Generative AI tools have lowered initial barriers to entry, enabling single founders to establish and run new ventures with reduced overhead. According to the Nasdaq Economic Institute, new one-person business applications have risen by more than 20% since early 2025.
Phil Mackintosh, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Nasdaq, highlighted the significance of these findings: "What's striking isn't just that entrepreneurship is surging — it's who's driving it and where. These are solo operators, and they're forming in the sectors that have consistently delivered the strongest productivity growth. That combination is a meaningful signal for where AI's economic impact may show up first."
Concentration in High-Productivity Sectors and Future Outlook
The Institute's findings indicate that the formation of solo-operated businesses is concentrated in sectors that have consistently delivered the strongest productivity growth, offering a meaningful indicator of where the macroeconomic impact of generative AI is emerging first.
Operating as an independent economic research platform rather than a developer software initiative, the Nasdaq Economic Institute aims to inform policy debates with empirical market evidence. Following the June 9 launch, the Institute issued a follow-up report on July 2, 2026 ("New Nasdaq Report Finds That AI Is Driving Entrepreneurship"), detailing the 20% rise in one-person business applications. The Institute plans to publish continuous empirical research and host regular policy roundtables for regulators and market participants.