How do MIT entrepreneurs use AI? |MIT News

Martin MIT entrepreneurship strives to teach students the skills of entrepreneurship. In the past few years, no technology has more to change this process than artificial intelligence.

While many predict a rapid and complete shift in entrepreneurial approach, the perspectives of leaders at the Trust Center are even more nuanced.

“The fundamentals of entrepreneurial principles for AI have not changed,” said the entrepreneur, a trust center living in Macauley Kenney. “The way entrepreneurs do their tasks has changed, and it comes down to how you build a company, but we think AI is another new tool in the toolkit. In some ways, the world is moving faster, but we also need to make sure the fundamentals of entrepreneurs are good.”

This approach was exhibited in the Delta V startup accelerator program this summer, with many students frequently turning to AI tools but ultimately relying on talking to customers to make the right decision for their business.

This year’s students use AI tools to speed up their coding, draft speeches, and learn about new industries and brainstorming ideas. Trust Centers are encouraging students to use AI as they see fit, while also paying attention to the limitations of the technology.

The Trust Center itself also embraced AI, most notably through Jetpack, which is its generated AI application that guides users through the 24 steps of disciplined entrepreneurship outlined in the book of the same name by Managing Director Bill Aulet. When students invest in launching ideas, the tool can suggest a customer base, pursue early markets, business models, pricing and product plans.

The Trust Center wants students to use Jetpack to be obvious in its name: It is inspired by the acceleration provided by JetPack, but users still need to guide their direction.

Even with the current limitations of AI technology, leaders in trust centers acknowledge that it can be a powerful tool at any stage of building a business, and that their use of AI will continue to evolve with the technology.

“We are currently in the midst of an AI revolution, which is undeniable,” said the entrepreneur at Ben Soltoff. “AI is reshaping a lot of what we do, and it is also shaping how we conduct entrepreneurship and how students build companies. Trust Center has recognized for years and we have always welcomed AI to introduce how we teach entrepreneurship at all levels, from the earliest ideas to the exploration and testing of these ideas and testing and understanding them and tailoring and scale.

Advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence

AI has been a central topic for the past few years when Delta v employees at Trust Centers gathered together for strategic retreats. The organizers of the Delta V program consider how students can make the most of their technology when planning their summer classes.

It all starts on track and is designed to help students find entrepreneurial resources, connect with peers, access guidance, and identify mobile apps that determine events and work. Last year, Jetpack was added to the track. It received training in Aulet’s “Discipline Entrepreneurship” and a book called “Entrepreneurship Strategy” by Paul Cheek, former executive director of the Trust Center.

The Trust describes the output of JetPack as a first draft, aiming to help students brainstorm.

“You need to validate everything when using AI to build your business,” said Kenney, who is also a lecturer at MIT Sloan and Mit D-Lab. “I haven’t met anyone who will build on something like Chatgpt without having to verify everything first. Sometimes, verification can take longer than you’ve done research from the beginning.”

Mendhai Health, a company this year, uses AI and telemedicine to provide personalized physical therapy for women who experience pelvic floor dysfunction before and after delivery.

“AI certainly makes the entrepreneurial process more efficient and faster,” said MBA student Ananchal Arora. “Nevertheless, at least at this point, over-reliance on AI can hinder your understanding of your customers. You need to be careful with every decision.”

Kenny points out that large language models are built in ways that can make them useful for entrepreneurs.

“Certain AI tools can speed up your speed by executing many AI tools that automatically email or help your Vibe code application, such as building average builds, which are less efficient when you try to connect with a very specific population,” Kenny said. “Let AI tell you that a normal person doesn’t help, and you need to personally have a strong validation of the presence of a specific customer. If you try to build tools for a normal person, you can build tools for anyone.”

Students eager to embrace AI may also be overwhelmed by the vast array of tools available today. Fortunately, MIT students have a long history at the forefront of any new technology, while this year’s Delta v Cohort features teams, at the heart of AI and every step of their entrepreneurial journey.

MBA MBA candidate MBA MBA candidate Murtaza Jameel, whose company Cognify uses AI to simulate users’ interactions with websites and applications to improve the digital experience, describes its company as an AI-based business.

“We are building a design intelligence tool that replaces product testing with instant, predictive simulations of user behavior,” Jameel explained. “We are trying to integrate AI into all our processes: conceive, go to market, program. All of our buildings are done with AI encoding tools. I have a custom robot that I have provided a lot of information for our company, and this is the thought partner I talk to every day.”

The more things change…

One of the basic principles that the Trust Center has not changed is that students need to leave the lab or classroom to talk to clients.

“AI can unlock new features and make things move faster in some ways, but because of AI, we’re not turning the course to their minds,” Soltoff said. “In Delta V, we first emphasize: what are you building, who are you building it for? AI alone can’t tell you who your customers are, what they want, and how to better meet their needs. You need to get into the world to achieve that.”

Indeed, many of the biggest obstacles, Delta V teams, look a lot like obstacles that barrier entrepreneurs have been facing this summer.

“We are ready at the Trust Center to understand the big changes and adapt to this change, but these companies are still building and experiencing challenges with customer identities, beach market identity, team dynamics,” Kenny said. “These are still huge challenges they have been working on.”

Amid the endless hype about the future of AI agents and work, many founders this summer still say the human aspect of Delta V makes the program unique.

“I came to MIT with one goal: to start a technology company,” Jamill said. “When I applied to MIT, the Delta V program was within my focus. The program provided you with incredible resources – networks, mentors, consultants. Some of the top people in our industry now offer us advice on how to build a company. It’s really unique. These people are doing their jobs 10 or 20 years ago, and everything is rooted in you.