SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi / 2025 / Cilt: 8

AI Co-Founders: Redefining Entrepreneurial Agency When Generative AI Becomes a Decision-Making Partner in New Venture Creation

Maha Sami Barakat

Pages
—
Publication Date
2026-08-02
DOI
—
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗

Abstract

This paper aims to address this gap by discussing the potential for generative AI, as a ‘decision-making partner', in new venture creation within the context of validated models linking AI co-founding intensity with reconfiguration of entrepreneurial agency. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach was used and the data was collected over twenty-four months from 300 early-stage companies in the three sectors - SaaS, Fintech, and EdTech. Results have confirmed that the higher the use of AI, the faster the creation of the MVP (71.1% less time than control using only humans). Distributed cognition processes are influenced by founder identity profiles (explorers, joiners and investors) and results show that the delegations of decision by joiners are very close to being equal. A clear impact of resource constraint on the compliance behavior is found: companies with low constraint rates above 35% are in compliance. AI-powered performance gaps are effective across industries, delivering 2.7X performance effectiveness in operations as compared to conventional performance. The study provides a first-principles measurement framework for understanding how augmentation differs from the substitution of human agency, a sector-generalizability of advantages of AI co-founding, and quantification of the misalignment between founder behaviour (resource constrained) and a normative governance framework. The results contribute to the theory of distributed cognition in entrepreneurial settings and provide recommendations for governance tuning in the use of AI in creating ventures.

Özet

This paper aims to address this gap by discussing the potential for generative AI, as a ‘decision-making partner', in new venture creation within the context of validated models linking AI co-founding intensity with reconfiguration of entrepreneurial agency. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach was used and the data was collected over twenty-four months from 300 early-stage companies in the three sectors - SaaS, Fintech, and EdTech. Results have confirmed that the higher the use of AI, the faster the creation of the MVP (71.1% less time than control using only humans). Distributed cognition processes are influenced by founder identity profiles (explorers, joiners and investors) and results show that the delegations of decision by joiners are very close to being equal. A clear impact of resource constraint on the compliance behavior is found: companies with low constraint rates above 35% are in compliance. AI-powered performance gaps are effective across industries, delivering 2.7X performance effectiveness in operations as compared to conventional performance. The study provides a first-principles measurement framework for understanding how augmentation differs from the substitution of human agency, a sector-generalizability of advantages of AI co-founding, and quantification of the misalignment between founder behaviour (resource constrained) and a normative governance framework. The results contribute to the theory of distributed cognition in entrepreneurial settings and provide recommendations for governance tuning in the use of AI in creating ventures.

Keywords
🔖

Cite This Article

Barakat, M. S. (2026). AI Co-Founders: Redefining Entrepreneurial Agency When Generative AI Becomes a Decision-Making Partner in New Venture Creation. Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt: 8. https://ajindex.com/articles/1067188

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

References (34)

  1. Ali, I., Nguyen, K., Ali, A. M., & Cui, T. (2025). Human–AI collaboration in knowledge ecosystems: A multidisciplinary review, integrative framework and future directions. Journal of Knowledge Management, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2025-0431
  2. Ali, M. (2026). Vılnıus Unıversıty Busıness School.
  3. Blessing, O. O. (2025). Human-AI Collaboration Systems. 1(2).
  4. Cougias, D. (2025). The Frontier Founder.
  5. Dale, W. (2025). AI and the Human Element: Exploring the Collaboration Between Entrepreneurs and Artificial Intelligence in Decision-Making and Venture Outcomes.
  6. Dauda, A. (2026). Chapter 3 Artıfıcıal Intellıgence In Entrepreneurshıp.
  7. Fitzsimons, A. Z., Gerber, E. M., & Long, D. (2025). AI constructs gendered struggle narratives: Implications for self-concept and systems design. Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, 2290–2301. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715275.3732156
  8. Fratini, A. (2025). AI as Co-Founder? Examining the Role of AI in New Venture Teams.
  9. Ganuthula, V. R. R. (2025). AI-enabled individual entrepreneurship theory: Redefining scale, capability, and sustainability in the digital age. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 14(1), 85. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-025-00521-9
  10. Gassmann, O., & Wincent, J. (2025). 2025-10-the-non-human-enterprise-how-ai-agents-reshape-organizations.
  11. Hughes, L., Dwivedi, Y. K., Malik, T., Shawosh, M., Albashrawi, M. A., Dutot, V., Appanderanda, M., & Crick, T. (2025). AI Agents and Agentic Systems: Redefining Human Contribution, Autonomy, Industry Structures, and Governance.
  12. Huynh, M.-T., & Aichner, T. (2025). In generative artificial intelligence we trust: Unpacking determinants and outcomes for cognitive trust. AI & SOCIETY, 40(8), 5849–5869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02378-8
  13. Iapaolo, F., & Lynch, C. R. (2026). Rethinking urban AI: A critical posthumanist perspective on intelligence, autonomy, and agency. Urban Geography, 47(1), 65–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2025.2510812
  14. Islam, M. A., Somu, S., & Aldaihani, F. M. F. (2026a). The Rise of Agentic AI: Synthesis of Current Knowledge and Future Research Agenda. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 45(3), 402–416. https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.70019
  15. Islam, M. A., Somu, S., & Aldaihani, F. M. F. (2026b). The Rise of Agentic AI: Synthesis of Current Knowledge and Future Research Agenda. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 45(3), 402–416. https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.70019
  16. Jaktlund, J., & Lidö, F. (2025). A Qualitative Study Exploring Perceptions of Gen. AI.
  17. Jaldi, M. (2025). A New Team Structure for AI-Human Collaboration in Digital Product Development.
  18. Joshi, S. (2025). Review of Autonomous and Collaborative Agentic AI and Multi-Agent Systems for Enterprise Applications. International Journal of Innovative Research in Engineering and Management, 12(3), 65–76. https://doi.org/10.55524/ijirem.2025.12.3.9
  19. Kambalapadavu, R., Kumar Shrinivas, S., Sharia, A., & Shetty, P. (2026). Generative AI as a Collaborative Partner in Entrepreneurial Creativity: A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Business, Communication & Technology, 64–78. https://doi.org/10.56632/bct.2026.5105
  20. Li, H. (2025). Advancing Decision-Making through AI-Human Collaboration: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework.
  21. Li, H., & Tian, F. (2026). Advancing Decision-Making through AI-Human Collaboration: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework. Group Decision and Negotiation, 35(2), 26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-026-09980-1
  22. Lindstam, M. (2025). Becoming With AI: Identity and Meaning-Making Among Graduate Students in Creative Disciplines.
  23. Liu, L. (2026). Reconceptualizing Innovation in Human–AI Creative Collaboration: Balancing Agency,.
  24. Murtinu, S., & De Massis, A. (2025). Artificial intelligence machines as relational nonhuman actors in entrepreneurial teams. Journal of Small Business Management, 63(6), 2890–2916. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2025.2461031
  25. [No title found]. (2019, September 5). Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Knowledge Management. 20th European Conference on Knowledge Management.
  26. Patel, K., Shah, M., Qureshi, K. M., & Qureshi, M. R. N. (2025). A systematic review of generative AI: Importance of industry and startup-centered perspectives, agentic AI, ethical considerations & challenges, and future directions. Artificial Intelligence Review, 59(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-025-11435-z
  27. Puerta-Beldarrain, M., Gómez-Carmona, O., Sánchez-Corcuera, R., Casado-Mansilla, D., López-de-Ipiña, D., & Chen, L. (2025). A Multifaceted Vision of the Human-AI Collaboration: A Comprehensive Review. IEEE Access, 13, 29375–29405. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3536095
  28. Qıng, C. Y., Hassan, N. B. M., & Loy, C. L. (2025). A Study On The Correlatıon Between Career Maturıty, Self-Concept, And Self-Identıty Of Students Majorıng In Preschool Teacher Educatıon. Https://Www.Tpmap.Org/, 32(3).
  29. Rezazadeh, F., & Bonehgazy, P. (2025). Digital Co-Founders: Transforming Imagination into Viable Solo Business via Agentic AI (arXiv:2511.09533). arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2511.09533
  30. Richter, A., & Schwabe, G. (2025). “There is No ‘AI’ in ‘TEAM’! Or is there?” – Towards meaningful human-AI collaboration. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 29. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v29.5753
  31. Ruba, D. N. (2025). Human-Aı Collaboratıon Framework For Complex Decısıon Makıng. . . ISSN, 13(1).
  32. Stelmaszak, M., Joshi, M., & Constantiou, I. (2026). Artificial Intelligence as an Organizing Capability Arising from Human‐Algorithm Relations. Journal of Management Studies, 63(2), 335–365. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.70003
  33. Tolsdorf, J., Kodwani, M., Eum, J., Sharif, M., & Aviv, A. J. (2025). Safety Perceptions of Generative AI Conversational Agents: Uncovering Perceptual Differences in Trust, Risk, and Fairness.
  34. Turner, A. F., Lee, H. Y., & Le Doux, J. M. (2025). Crafting the self: The interplay of agency, entrepreneurial mindset, and narrative identity. Journal of Engineering Education, 114(3), e70003. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.70003