As AI reshapes the job market, Mark Cuban has simple career advice. Focus on small businesses.
In an X post on Tuesday, the billionaire entrepreneur said small and medium-sized businesses create about 60% of new jobs each year and that AI will make it “easier and faster” to compete with large companies.
Businesses with fewer than 250 employees accounted for 51% of net job creation from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2025, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The proportion of jobs created each year by small businesses will only increase,” Cuban wrote. “Start your job search with a small to medium-sized company.”
Cuban’s comments come as employers grapple with how AI will impact employment. Some companies cite the technology to automate tasks and reduce headcount, while others claim it creates new roles and increases employee productivity.
While one X user questioned whether AI would actually lead to more jobs, saying startups could become leaner and hire fewer people, Cuban said small businesses still need help leveraging the technology.
“The smallest companies lack deep expertise in AI,” Cuban wrote. “They need help. Kids coming out of college have that expertise.”
Mr. Cuban also pushed back against the idea that small and medium-sized businesses would primarily use AI to reduce headcount.
“Not true,” he wrote in response to another user. “They’re using it to do things they haven’t been able to do before because they didn’t have the time.”
Cuban’s comments echo advice he gave to new graduates in December. At the time, he said new graduates should consider joining small and medium-sized enterprises. This is because it can help employ AI agents and automate processes that previously lacked the time and budget to handle manually.
“Big companies don’t need new graduates for this,” Cuban wrote in X at the time. “Entrepreneurial companies will love the value you add.”