GNO, Inc. Sunday Night Highlight – The Robots are Coming, and We Are Ready
Entrepreneurs in the Greater New Orleans region are embracing artificial intelligence faster than their counterparts nationwide, according to the 2025 Greater New Orleans Startup Report from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.
The seventh annual report, based on a survey of more than 120 startups across the 10-parish region, found that 77 percent of respondents expect AI to have a major long-term impact on their business, and 67 percent believe it represents their biggest opportunity. Of those already using AI, 85 percent reported productivity gains, expanded market share, and cost savings.
A separate report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports the findings, ranking Louisiana seventh in the nation for adoption of generative AI – topping the national average by seven percentage points.
The Startup Report also reveals mixed confidence in hiring and workspace investment. A slight majority of companies plan to add employees in the coming year, but 22 percent said they do not, the highest figure in the report’s history.
This year’s edition also marks a major turning point. Beginning next year, Tulane’s Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation will partner with Louisiana Innovation to expand the survey statewide, renaming it the Louisiana Startup Report. The expanded report will provide parish-by-parish insights to help track regional trends, emerging clusters, and capital gaps. It complements ongoing efforts by Greater New Orleans, Inc. to strengthen the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through initiatives like StartupNOLA. Earlier this month, a separate group, the NOLA Entrepreneurship Council, met for the first time. The committee is a working group that will take up issues, from policy to funding to quality of life, that are critical to the success of the Louisiana innovation ecosystem, including AI adoption.
Recently, Civilized AI, a govtech startup dedicated to helping cities work better, closed a $2 million seed funding round led by Benson Capital, with participation from Tulane University, Austin Capital Factory, and members of the Greater New Orleans angel investment community. Founded by Matt Wisdom, who previously built TurboSquid into a global 3D marketplace that was acquired by Shutterstock, Civilized AI is dedicated to using AI to improve how cities serve their residents.
“The trends we see in this year’s GNO Startup Report – high entrepreneurship rates, AI adoption, new funds and facilities, expanding infrastructure, and the leadership of Louisiana Innovation to support startups across the entire state – position us uniquely for the future,” said Rob Lalka, Executive Director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane.
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