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Digital Entrepreneurship and AI-Enabled New Venture Creation: Opportunity Recognition, Business Model Innovation, and Ecosystem

Kayode Jacob Otulana, Kunle Hassan, and David Blessing

Abstract

The proliferation of artificial intelligence technologies has fundamentally altered the landscape of entrepreneurship, enabling new venture creation at unprecedented speed and scale while simultaneously reshaping how founders identify opportunities, construct business models, and compete within digital ecosystems. This paper develops a comprehensive theoretical account of AI-enabled digital entrepreneurship, integrating effectuation theory, entrepreneurial cognition research, business model innovation scholarship, and platform economics. We synthesize evidence from 30 recent studies and industry analyses to characterize three domains of AI-entrepreneur interaction: (1) AI-enhanced opportunity recognition and market discovery, (2) AI-as- infrastructure enabling novel business model architectures, and (3) the competitive dynamics of AI-enabled platform ecosystems. An original framework—the Digital Venture Intelligence Model —is proposed to capture how entrepreneurial teams leverage AI tools across the venture lifecycle. The paper identifies a paradox of democratization: while AI lowers barriers to venture creation, it simultaneously raises competitive thresholds, favoring data-rich incumbents. Findings have implications for entrepreneurs, investors, educators, and policymakers seeking to harness AI for inclusive innovation.

Keywords

digital entrepreneurshipartificial intelligenceopportunity recognitionbusiness model innovationplatform ecosystemsventure creationstartup strategygenerative AI

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