AI Adoption Fuels Startup Growth But Rising Costs Cool Founder Confidence, Survey Finds

A new survey of 1,500 U.S. founders reveals AI adoption is supercharging startup growth, with heavy AI users raising venture capital at four times the rate of non-adopters, but rising costs are quietly cooling founder confidence, with team-hiring growth dropping sharply and 75% reporting expenses exceeded expectations.

• A survey of 1,500 U.S. founders reveals that 84% report improved business confidence year over year, though the share feeling 'significantly' more confident drops from 41% to 33%, signaling a subtle cooling in startup sentiment amid rising costs and inflation.
• AI adoption is emerging as a major economic dividing line, with 95% of early-stage companies deploying AI agents, significant AI adopters raising venture capital at more than four times the rate of non-adopters, and 31% of founders at $10M+ revenue companies saying AI literally made starting their business possible.
• Rising costs are reshaping startup strategy, with 75% of founders reporting business expenses exceeded expectations, 27% passing costs to customers, and hiring growth cooling as companies actively scaling their teams drops from 32% to 24% year over year.