Apr 23, 2026
Artificial intelligence is moving fast, but not all businesses know how to fully reap its benefits. That disconnect, according to Mark Cuban, represents a major money-making opportunity.
In an interview with TBPN, the billionaire investor said too much attention is being paid to building AI tools, while not enough is focused on helping companies apply them in the real world.
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"There are 33 million companies in this country. Thirty million of them are solopreneurs, right, single-person enterprises. There are millions… that aren't going to have AI budgets, aren't going to have AI experts," he said, pointing to a lack of in-house expertise across smaller firms (1).
That leaves much of the economy underusing AI's potential and, in Cuban's view, likely means there will be plenty of well-paying jobs for people able to help businesses apply it more effectively.
An overlooked job opportunity
Cuban has lived through multiple revolutionary tech changes, from personal computers to the internet. None of them, he believes, compare to AI.
"I've been through every single technology… and this blows them all away," he said.
One lesson Cuban learned from past experiences is that businesses tend to be slow to adapt. "When I was 24, I was walking into companies who had never seen a PC before in their lives and explaining to them value and having these guys going, 'well, son, I got this receptionist right there. I got that secretary, I'm never going to need that,'" he said.
Cuban sees a similar pattern today. AI tools are improving quickly, but many companies still don't know how to maximize them to improve their business.
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Data supports this. According to the Census Bureau, by late 2025 only about 18% of U.S. firms had adopted AI (2). And among small businesses, adoption is even lower. A Goldman Sachs survey found just 14% of them have fully integrated AI into their core operations (3).
"AI is already helping small businesses compete, save time, and better serve customers, but many of us are still figuring out how to use it effectively," said Khari Parker, co-founder of Connie's Chicken and Waffles in Baltimore. "With the right guidance and training, AI can be transformational for Main Street."
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Where the real opportunity lies
Part of the challenge is that AI isn't a plug-and-play tool. "You've got the head of Microsoft saying software is dead because everything's going to be customized to your unique utilization," Cuban said.
That shift is key. In the past, companies often had to adjust how they worked to fit the software they bought. With AI, the opposite is happening. The tools can be shaped around the business.
But that doesn't happen automatically. A retail shop, a logistics company and a small accounting firm will all need different setups. The tools exist, but someone has to understand the business, identify the problems and connect the dots.
That's where Cuban sees the biggest opportunity.
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Instead of building new AI models, he believes the real value may lie in helping companies use existing tools in ways that fit their specific needs.
"This is where kids getting hired coming out of college are really going to have a unique opportunity," Cuban said. "When I'm telling my kids… and kids going to school, what should I do? I'd be like, 'learn all you can about AI, but learn more on how to implement them in companies.' Because… companies don't understand how to implement all that right now to get a competitive advantage."
In other words, the key isn't just understanding AI tools. It's knowing how to apply them to a specific business.
"You can walk into a company and say, 'I understand your business… let me show you how to benefit you,'" he said. "That is every single job that's going to be available for kids coming out of school because every single company needs that."
Article sources
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YouTube (1); U.S. Federal Reserve (2); Goldman Sachs (3)
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Financial journalist with 15+ years’ experience covering markets, economics and personal finance for a range of international publications including Investopedia, The Times, Investors Chronicle (Financial Times) and NerdWallet.
