Two-thirds of American adults believe everyday investors should have a stake in artificial intelligence's financial upside and a growing majority say the industry's wealth concentration is souring their view of the biggest names in the sector.
Those are among the findings of a new national survey of more than 2,000 US adults from retail investment tech firm DealMaker, reveals that 67 percent of respondents said they want anyone who wishes to invest in AI's growth to be able to do so.
Despite enthusiasm for AI as a technology, a majority of Americans view its economic structure with unease.
Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they believe AI will worsen economic inequality in the United States. The same share said they think everyday investors face the risk of buying into companies like OpenAI and Anthropic at inflated valuations, after insiders have already captured the bulk of the gains.
Fifty-seven percent agreed that companies remaining private for longer and then going public at multi-trillion-dollar valuations, is damaging the broader economy by concentrating pre-IPO returns among venture capitalists and institutional investors.
Fifty-eight percent said AI's contribution to economic inequality is already affecting their opinion of the sector's dominant companies.
As mega-IPOs from AI companies approach, the question of when and at what price retail investors can participate is becoming more pressing.
Adults aged 65 and over expressed the strongest support for expanded retail access, with nearly 78% agreeing that everyday Americans should be able to benefit from AI's growth, the highest figure of any age group surveyed.
That cohort controls an outsized share of investable capital. According to Federal Reserve data, Americans 65 and older hold approximately $85 trillion in assets and control roughly 54% of US equities, a position worth more than $25 trillion.
However, direct pathways to pre-IPO investment in high-growth technology companies have historically been closed to them, as to most retail investors.
Generation Z, by contrast, registered the lowest level of support at 55%.The survey's authors suggest this may reflect skepticism among a cohort entering the workforce during a period of significant AI-driven labor market disruption.
Gen Z holds approximately $6 trillion in total wealth, according to data from Cerulli Associates, marking a fraction of what older Americans control, and a disparity that itself illustrates the inequality the survey is measuring.
Policy is beginning to move in the direction the survey data suggest the public wants.
The House passed the bipartisan INVEST Act in December 2025 and the bill is now before the Senate. This would direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to modernize the accredited investor definition.
The proposed changes would adjust income and net worth thresholds for inflation and introduce new pathways to qualification based on financial education and professional experience, rather than wealth alone.
Advisors are already preparing clients for the wave of anticipated AI company listings, and some are examining pre-IPO equity as a distinct asset class.
But access remains uneven: as one recent analysis of the pre-IPO market notes, infrastructure gaps along with regulatory ones continue to limit meaningful retail participation.
SpaceX's decision to set aside a significant share of its IPO allocation for retail investors was cited by DealMaker as evidence that appetite exists on both sides of the transaction.
“One historic allocation like SpaceX doesn't meet demand at that scale,” said Rebecca Kacaba, chief executive and co-founder of DealMaker, a Toronto-based company with US operations. “Retail investors are the sorts of people who will feel AI's impact the most, and there's a growing frustration that they're being locked out of the best opportunities."
Even so, 36% of those surveyed said they would invest in OpenAI before its public offering if given the opportunity, suggesting that latent demand for access to private AI investments is substantial, even among those who are skeptical of the current structure.
Seventy-eight percent of all respondents agreed that the United States has a problem with economic inequality, which the survey notes represents another area of unusually strong bipartisan agreement.
FSB, FINRA and Canada's OSFI have each flagged AI as a threat to financial stability, citing stretched valuations, rising retail leverage and cyber vulnerabilities
Insurance brokerage and consulting firm has roughly $3 billion in annual revenue and serves midsize businesses across the US.
Federal prosecutors say the scheme used fake investment accounts and a fictitious financial advisor to lure victims into romance-fueled fraud.
Morgan Stanley sought to claw back recruiting bonus money from Darryl Cohen.
Referrals from centers of influence may open the door, but the real key to success for advisors comes from clarity about their ideal clients and where they want to show up.
Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
