Zoom Backs AI-Powered 'Armies of One' with New Solopreneur 50 List

SAN JOSE, CA – January 08, 2026 – Zoom today announced a significant new initiative aimed squarely at the burgeoning class of solo entrepreneurs, launching nominations for its first-ever U.S. Solopreneur 50 List (ZSP50). The program is a recognition and grant initiative designed to celebrate and accelerate the growth of individuals who are building and scaling their businesses single-handedly, with a strong emphasis on those leveraging artificial intelligence to punch above their weight.

This move signals more than just a corporate award; it represents a strategic embrace of a fundamental shift in the American business landscape, where technology, particularly AI, is empowering individuals to achieve a scale once reserved for larger organizations. The ZSP50 will honor 50 U.S.-based creators, consultants, and innovators who operate as “businesses of one,” providing them with a platform, a community, and financial backing.

The New Face of Entrepreneurship: The AI-Powered Solopreneur

The timing of Zoom's initiative is no coincidence. It arrives as the solopreneur economy, supercharged by accessible AI tools, is hitting a major inflection point. Recent industry data reveals a dramatic surge in high-earning solo businesses, with the number of solopreneurs reaching $1 million in revenue more than doubling in the two years since generative AI tools like ChatGPT became mainstream. Today, nearly 60% of small businesses in the U.S. report using AI, a sharp increase from just two years ago.

Zoom’s own research, conducted in partnership with Upwork, paints a vivid picture of this dependency. A staggering 64% of surveyed small businesses, including solopreneurs, stated they couldn't operate without AI. The reported returns are compelling: 91% saw a return on their AI investment within a single year, with tangible benefits across the board. The survey found that 82% of these businesses used AI to reduce costs, 91% to increase customer acquisition, and 87% to improve customer retention.

“AI is expanding what a single person can accomplish,” said Kimberly Storin, Chief Marketing Officer at Zoom, in the announcement. “Solopreneurs are using AI to remove friction, move faster, reach further, and operate with a level of sophistication that used to be out of reach. The Solopreneur 50 recognizes the builders proving that scale today is driven by capability, not company size.”

This new breed of entrepreneur leverages AI not as a novelty, but as a core operational capability. They are unencumbered by the legacy systems and bureaucratic hurdles that can slow AI adoption in larger corporations, allowing them to test, iterate, and deploy new solutions in real time.

Inside the Solopreneur 50 Program

Zoom’s ZSP50 program is structured to provide meaningful support beyond a simple plaque. Nominations, which can be self-submitted or made on behalf of others, are open until 5 p.m. ET on February 13, 2026. To be eligible, a business must be U.S.-based, have been in operation for at least one year, and have no full-time employees.

A jury of experts from Zoom's network will evaluate nominees on five key dimensions that reflect the modern solo venture: originality of the idea, demonstrated financial performance, measurable business impact, authentic connection to community, and influence in shaping their market or industry.

Honorees, set to be announced in the second quarter of 2026, will gain significant exposure through Zoom’s media ecosystem, access to a curated community of peers and mentors, and eligibility for a pool of $150,000 in financial grants. This funding will be awarded to the top five honorees to accelerate their growth and impact.

“Some of the most effective uses of AI aren’t coming from big companies – they’re solopreneurs,” noted Lisa Scheiring, Zoom’s Global Small Business Advisor. “They’re not waiting for polished playbooks or permission; they’re using AI to solve real problems in real time, from gaining continuous visibility into operations, to accessing expertise on demand, to turning a single hour of work into an entire marketing campaign.”

Beyond Video Calls: Zoom's Strategic Bet on the 'Business of One'

While the ZSP50 program is a public-facing initiative, it is deeply rooted in Zoom’s evolving corporate strategy. The company has aggressively moved to position itself as an “AI-first” platform, expanding far beyond its legacy in video conferencing. This program serves as a powerful vehicle to showcase the real-world application of its own AI tools, such as the Zoom AI Companion, which is integrated across its Zoom Workplace platform.

AI Companion, included with paid plans, offers features directly targeted at the pain points of a solo operator: automatically generating meeting summaries and next steps, drafting emails and chat responses, transcribing voicemails, and even helping to build project plans in Zoom Docs. By highlighting and rewarding the most innovative AI-using solopreneurs, Zoom creates powerful case studies for its own products, demonstrating how its platform can function as the central nervous system for a business of one.

This focus on the solo economy is also a shrewd competitive maneuver. As Zoom vies with giants like Microsoft and Google in the collaboration space, carving out a dedicated niche with the rapidly growing solopreneur segment allows it to build a loyal user base and a distinct brand identity. The ZSP50 is not merely an award but an ecosystem-building play, designed to embed Zoom as an indispensable partner for the future of independent work.

The Double-Edged Sword: Opportunities and Hurdles for Solo AI Pioneers

The rise of the AI-powered solopreneur presents a landscape of unprecedented opportunity, but it is not without its challenges. On one hand, AI acts as a great equalizer, giving individuals access to analytical power, content generation, and automation that previously required entire departments. It allows them to automate administrative tasks, saving dozens of hours per month, and gain deep market insights without a research team.

However, this new paradigm brings its own set of hurdles. The rapid pace of AI evolution demands a constant commitment to learning and upskilling. Solo operators must also become adept at navigating complex issues of data privacy and security, a significant responsibility for a single person to bear. There is also the risk of over-automation, where a founder’s unique voice and the crucial “human touch” in customer relations can become diluted by generic, AI-generated content.

Furthermore, the isolation of solopreneurship can be amplified by a reliance on AI. While AI can act as a co-pilot, it cannot replace the critical feedback and diverse perspectives a human team provides. Without a sounding board, solo founders can face decision fatigue or fall into a confirmation-bias echo chamber with their AI tools. Programs like the ZSP50 aim to mitigate some of this by fostering a community, but the daily discipline of balancing AI efficiency with human ingenuity and critical thinking remains the central challenge and opportunity for this new generation of entrepreneurs.