Most people treat artificial intelligence like a convenience. It helps polish an email, summarize a document, or plan out the day. As handy as it is, it is not quite revolutionary yet (yet being the keyword).
Mark Cuban has a different point of view. The Shark Tank investor has argued that we’re still at the starting line. What feels advanced now, he believes, will look basic in a few years.
Cuban has said AI could unlock wealth on a scale we’ve never witnessed. He’s even suggested it might pave the way for the first trillionaire. Not because it replaces small tasks, but because it reshapes entire industries when used correctly.
The people who figure out how to build with it, not just use it, are the ones he thinks will win big in the future.
Mark Cuban Reveals How AI Solo Creators Could Become Billionaires
Mark Cuban has talked at length about how AI is reshaping the way people work, create, and build businesses. In interview after interview, he’s said that people are still thinking too small. They see AI as an upgrade to what they’re already doing. Cuban believes it’s a chance to rethink the entire model.
AI lowers barriers that once blocked entry. You no longer need a large team or a huge budget to test ideas. The former Dallas Mavericks owner believes that change could create opportunities for individuals in ways the traditional system never allowed.
During a conversation on the High Performance podcast, the former Shark made it clear he doesn’t think the first trillionaire breakthrough has to come from a giant tech company.
In his view, it could just as easily come from an individual who figures out how to build something massive on top of AI before everyone else does. Speaking on the podcast in Summer 2025, Cuban said, “We haven’t seen the best or the craziest of what [AI is] going to be able to do. And not only do I think it’ll create a trillionaire, but it could be just one dude in the basement. That’s how crazy it could be.”
Mark Cuban Says AI Mirrors the Early Days of Apple and Amazon
Mark Cuban likes to remind people how today’s giants actually began. Steve Jobs started Apple in a garage. Jeff Bezos built Amazon the same way. None of them launched as global powerhouses. They were small, scrappy, and early.
Cuban thinks AI creates a similar opening. The tools are cheaper. The barriers aren’t what they used to be. You don’t need a massive team to get something off the ground anymore.
He often points to OpenAI as a recent example. It began in 2015 in cofounder Greg Brockman’s living room. Today in 2026, as per media reports, the company is reportedly chasing funding at a valuation near $800 billion. CEO Sam Altman is said to be worth around estimated $2 billion.
This leap circles back to Mark Cuban’s main point, of how fast AI companies can grow.
Elon Musk’s Trillionaire Path and the AI Wealth Race
Be that as it may, the numbers are still a long way from a trillion dollars. In other news, a September 2024 report from Informa Connect projected that Tesla CEO Elon Musk could reach trillionaire status by 2027.
Mark Cuban’s point is that history keeps proving one thing. Each wave of innovation creates someone who builds something even bigger than the last. But in his view, AI stands apart. He’s said the scale of what it could produce makes past breakthroughs look small by comparison.
Mark Cuban’s Long-Term Vision for Artificial Intelligence
Mark Cuban thinks most people still don’t grasp how far AI can go. In his view, we’re only seeing the first hints of what it might become.
He often draws a parallel to the early days of personal computers and the internet. Back then, plenty of people shrugged them off as novelties. Later, they reshaped everything.
Cuban has called this stretch the “preseason.” The real game, he suggests, hasn’t even started yet.
In the same aforementioned conversation with High Performance, Cuban explained his views. He said, “As it becomes more advanced — and I’m not saying we’re going to get the Terminator — I’m not saying all of a sudden there’s going to be robots that are smarter than people, like the movie. But we’ll find ways to make our lives better, more interesting, to work better, more effectively.”
He further added that “I’m not here to tell you that it’s going to replace everybody’s job. It won’t.”
Mark Cuban Balances AI Innovation With Caution
Mark Cuban isn’t just predicting what AI might do. He’s using it himself. He’s said he turns to ChatGPT for everyday work and even to help manage his health.
Cuban has atrial fibrillation, so tracking meds and exercise is mandatory for him. He feeds details into the tool and asks it to spot anything unusual. He’s admitted it’s picked up patterns he might have overlooked. Nonetheless, he’s careful with it. He doesn’t treat it like a medical professional.
Mark Cuban is clear about the guardrails. AI can slip up, especially in areas like health or finance. When something sounds off, he challenges it. He asks for the logic behind the answer and wants to see how it got there. For him, it’s a smart second set of eyes, not the final word.
