Alibaba.com: Solo entrepreneurship boom as AI lowers startup barriers

Alibaba.com, the B2B marketplace owned by Alibaba Group (BABA), released an analysis based on more than 15,000 applications for its global small-business program. The data shows a sharp rise in solo founders – individuals starting a business alone, often with no prior export experience.

The company attributed the trend to lower costs powered by generative AI tools. Solo entrepreneurs now represent the fastest-growing segment of new merchants on the platform, Alibaba.com said. Many of these applicants are using AI for product descriptions, translation, and supplier matching, cutting the time and money needed to launch an online export business.

Alibaba.com's program aims to bring small producers from emerging markets onto the platform. The shift toward single-person operations could expand the merchant base without requiring the same overhead as traditional small businesses.

For BABA, the platform growth feeds into the broader Alibaba ecosystem, though the unit's revenue is a small slice of the group's total. AlphaScala's proprietary Alpha Score rates BABA at 44 out of 100, a mixed reading that reflects both the company's core e-commerce strength and ongoing competitive pressures.

The analysis covers applications received through early 2025. Alibaba.com said it will continue tracking the cohort to see how many convert into active sellers.