Thanks to AI, the one-person unicorn is closer than you think

Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram and current chief product officer at Anthropic, observes a profound transformation in the startup ecosystem thanks to agentic AI models. These models are enabling founders to experiment and develop their products much more efficiently and quickly, sometimes achieving in a weekend what once took weeks. The conventional bottlenecks in startup creation—coding and capital—are being replaced by challenges related to decision-making and operational processes. AI, Krieger notes, is not just an assistant; it’s becoming a creative collaborator, exemplified by Claude, Anthropic’s AI agent, which now writes most of the company’s code. Startups can harness these AI agents to parallel-test multiple ideas simultaneously, something Instagram’s early team could only dream of.

Anthropic’s Claude 4 helped increase its user base substantially and demonstrated how integral AI can become, not just for developers but for those with a vision and determination but lacking technical skills. The avant-garde MCP (Model Context Protocol) is central to this transformation, allowing AI agents to seamlessly interact with diverse digital tools, effectively expanding their capabilities far beyond passive responses.

Despite skepticism about AI’s reliability, Krieger stands firm on the potential of agentic AI to redefine the role of founders, suggesting that soon, individuals might not need extensive technical expertise or a large financial war chest to innovate. Concerns remain about AI replacing jobs, but the trajectory is set towards more automated processes in businesses. Skeptics urge caution, advising cautious integration of AI agents, advocating for AI as an augmentative force rather than a wholesale replacement. As the potential of solo startups reaching billion-dollar valuations by leveraging AI draws near, it symbolizes a shift rather than a technological upheaval, making the prospect of the one-person unicorn more credible with each advancement.