Tariff Impact on Startup Economics and Growth: AI Acceleration as a Mitigating Factor

Tariffs pose dual threats to startups through input costs and revenue uncertainty, with tech companies facing 48% international revenue exposure. However, software companies' high gross margins (70%+) and accelerating AI adoption for cost reduction may offset near-term headwinds, supported by long-term IT spend growth forecasts reaching 4% of GDP by 2030.