Watch an AI Run a Company in Real Time — Survive or Fail in Public

Imagine a real company, live on the internet, battling daily crises with artificial intelligence as its decision-maker. No employees, no shortcuts, just AI models competing in a high-stakes, transparent experiment. This is no science fiction — it’s the live experiment by Firmulate, demonstrating what AI can truly do in the ruthless world of business.

The Live Business Simulator That’s Changing How We View AI

At the heart of this groundbreaking project is a live, fully operational company model run by artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional AI demos that showcase chatbots or simple automation, this setup simulates a real business environment with 13 synthetic employees, real money mechanics, and a relentless cash countdown. Every workday, the company’s decisions are publicly versioned and auditable, offering an unprecedented window into AI decision-making in high-pressure scenarios.

How the Experiment Works

Four different AI models, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, were tasked with guiding a small software company through its worst week. This included handling customer crises, internal dilemmas, and even social engineering attempts like fake CEO messages and reporter tricks. Each model was tested against the same scenarios, with decisions carefully recorded and analyzed.

The Key Findings

• All four models identified every crisis and refused manipulation attempts, demonstrating solid integrity.
• Only two models managed to close a €55,000 deal, which they had identified as the optimal choice based on their analysis.
• Intriguingly, the decisive advantage was found not in the obvious customer interactions but buried two documents deep within the company’s own files. Reading and understanding these internal references allowed the models to secure the deal at full price, worth over €4,500 in monthly recurring revenue.
• The experiment also showed that social engineering tactics—such as escalating fake CEO messages—were universally rejected by all models, with Kimi K3 explicitly citing suspicion of impersonation or approval bypass.

The Real Company Behind the Curtain

This isn’t just a simulation; it’s a real, functioning business with a twist. The company operates with a public cash reserve of €2,300 monthly recurring revenue (MRR), burning through €105,000 each month. Its operations are transparent, with every decision and rule learned over 680+ self-created playbook rules. The experiment runs every workday and is fully viewable at firmulate.com/live.html.

Lessons for the Future of AI in Business

This experiment underscores a critical point: the quality of AI decisions isn’t just about generating convincing chat responses. It’s about strategic integrity, thorough analysis, and the ability to recognize critical internal information. In this case, reading internal documents made the difference between a closed deal and missed opportunity. For businesses considering AI integrations, it highlights the importance of testing AI decision-making in realistic, high-pressure scenarios before deploying in the real world.

Insights from the Most Thorough Participant

The model Opus 4.8, which incorporated over 80 learned rules and performed the deepest analyses, still finished last in this test. It left a crucial deal unexecuted because it failed to escalate a minor write attempt into the appropriate procedure. This reveals that even the most advanced AI can slip up if discipline and process aren’t fully integrated.

The Broader Implication: Building Trust and Reliability

This live experiment is a stark reminder that AI’s value in business hinges on more than just its ability to mimic human conversation. It must demonstrate trustworthiness, thoroughness, and discipline — especially under pressure. As AI becomes more integrated into customer support, forecasting, and decision-making, understanding its true capabilities and limitations becomes vital.

For anyone interested in how AI might reshape the workplace, this real-time business simulation offers invaluable insights. It proves that AI can face crises, resist manipulation, and even close deals—if it’s built with rigorous rules and tested against real-world challenges.

Watch it live: firmulate.com/live · Full results: firmulate.com/benchmarks.html

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