In the GEM 2024/2025 Global Report, we highlighted a pivotal moment for the global entrepreneurship community: a global uncertainty regarding the role of Artificial Intelligence. While digital marketing had become pervasive, AI remained a frontier of uncertainty. Drawing on data from over 150,000 individuals, fewer than three in ten new entrepreneurs across 73% of participating economies (36 out of 49) saw AI as becoming “very important” to their business in the next three years.
At the time, GEM Executive Director Aileen Ionescu-Somers noted:
“Entrepreneurship is a key driver of prosperity and innovation, and GEM’s long-standing research has been instrumental in tracking its impact. By gathering first-hand insights directly from the entrepreneurs themselves, GEM offers a unique perspective on how new businesses shape economies, tackle global challenges and invest in a sustainable future.”
Fast forward to today as we prepare to launch the GEM 2025/2026 Global Report on 26 February at @TecdeMonterrey, we revisit these questions with a year of new data. Has that uncertainty turned into adoption, or are we seeing a new kind of global disparity?
While some economies have moved from awareness to rapid adoption, others risk being left behind. This year's report provides the hard evidence needed to move from a Reality Check to strategic global action.