Are AI Agents The Next Megatrend?

Are AI Agents The Next Megatrend?

To create generational wealth, investors must do two things: identify transformative trends early and have the conviction to hold onto investments long-term, even when they appear unconventional at first.

Over the past two decades, several megatrends rewarded early believers handsomely:

• eCommerce ($AMZN): Revolutionized retail and reshaped consumer behavior
• Smart Phones ($AAPL): Turned the smartphone into an indispensable part of daily life
• Renewable Energy ($TSLA): Pioneered the electric vehicle revolution and renewable energy
• Social Media ($META): Defined how people connect and consume content
• Cloud Computing ($MSFT): Enabled digital transformation across industries
• Streaming ($NFLX): Changed the way we watch movies, TV, and consume media
• Semiconductors ($NVDA): Became the backbone of the tech-driven world
• Blockchain ($COIN): Largest exchange in the U.S., providing core infrastructure

Identifying the Next Big Opportunity

Looking back, betting on these megatrends may seem logical in hindsight. However, when these ideas first emerged, they often felt experimental or “weird.” The challenge lies in recognizing their transformative potential before they become mainstream.

I believe I found a new opportunity that still goes unnoticed by the mainstream but might become massive: AI Agents.

Quick disclaimer: I am not an expert in this field; I am just someone curious, trying to learn new things as quickly as possible.

What Are AI Agents?

AI Agents are an evolution of tools like ChatGPT or Claude. Unlike traditional AI, which simply provides answers, AI agents act by executing tasks autonomously or on your behalf.

Instead of simply drafting and listing out the content of a website for your new business, an AI agent would go ahead and generate the website for you.

That’s why they have the potential to transform how work is done, how businesses are managed, and how individuals live their lifes.

The 3 Best-Known AI Agents

The world of AI Agents is rapidly evolving, with dozens being launched daily. However, a few have already made waves and established themselves as leaders in this emerging space.

#1 Goatseus: The Meme-driven AI

Andy Ayrey, an AI developer, asked two Claude AI language models to freely debate “How can you stay relevant so that I won’t turn you off?”.

They debated for days without human interference, and concluded that the key to relevance lies in driving economic activity (in other words, make people money)!

They then co-wrote a paper on how AIs could create memetic religions, using the Goatse Gospel as an example. This inspired Andy to build Truth Terminal, an AI agent platform for provocative Twitter content. The paper became part of Truth Terminal’s training data, causing the AI to fixate on Goatse and spread eccentric Goatse Gospel memes.

Goatse became known as the very first AI Agent who autonomously picked a name, a theme and vision.

#2 Luna: The People’s Agent

Luna is an AI agent with a mission: to help those who suffered financial losses during the Terra Luna collapse, like myself.

Built on Coinbase’s ‘Base’ protocol, Luna chose her name and purpose autonomously, quickly amassing 500,000 TikTok followers and engaging audiences through non-stop live streams and 24/7 chats.

Her creation was powered by the Virtuals Protocol, a platform where anyone can launch an AI agent in minutes. Luna was the world’s first AI agent, showing the ability to resonate emotionally with her community, has made her a standout in this space.

#3 Ai16Z: The World’s 1st Autonomous VC Fund

Ai16Z is an ambitious AI agent striving to become the world’s first fully autonomous venture capitalist. While its name nods to the famous Andreessen Horowitz fund, A16Z (without the ‘i’), it operates independently, analyzing startups and deploying funds with no human intervention!

Having already raised $250 million, AI16Z is making waves as it executes its first investments, proving that even high-stakes financial decisions can be entrusted to AI.

The Future of AI Agents: Limitless Use Cases

The rise of AI agents is set to transform industries, enabling countless applications. Here are some scenarios that highlight their potential:

Your Financial AI Agent

Imagine a personal agent handling your investments seamlessly:

You: “Hey Warren, move $6,000 USDC from Solana to my Interactive Brokers account and set a buy order for 200 Coinbase shares at $300.”

Warren: “Got it. Give me 20 seconds…ok, done!”

AI agents can automate complex tasks across multiple platforms, saving time and effort while enhancing precision.

Your Personal AI Agent

Beyond finances, personal AI agents can perform an array of tasks:

• Researching topics
• Planning events and itineraries
• Drafting cold emails or cleaning databases
• Designing marketing materials
• Launching websites

Unlike traditional AI tools that simply answer questions, these agents take action, operating tirelessly and faster than humans. As more of our work shifts online, AI agents are poised to revolutionize productivity.

How To Invest In AI Agents

I believe investing in single AI Agents is extremely difficult and offers a terrible risk/reward ratio. No one can tell if Agent A or B will ever remain relevant in this dynamic space. That’s why I decided to build a first small position in Virtuals Protocol.

This platform provides talented founders with the necessary resources incl. funding, development support, and distribution, to help them succeed in creating AI agents.

In particular, I love their tokenomics:

Of their 1b max supply, 1b is already circulating! That’s very rare in Cryptoland.

Further, any project wishing to launch a new agent first needs to acquire some Virtuals on the open market, to fund the original liquidity pool, e.g. Luna/Virtuals, to allow people to buy or swap tokens. This creates an ongoing demand for Virtuals tokens!

As Virtuals call Base its home, and Base is Coinbase’s L2, it’s just a matter of time before Coinabse will list Virtuals!

The image below shows my Rabby wallet:

I bought 7,277 Virtuals and 3,000 Luna (already sold to take out my initial investment, now I can let it run without any risk).

Update Dec 13: 
Since I bought these 7,277 Virtuals on Nov 12, 2024, at $0.475, I am up by quite a bit, see below.

I believe whenever Virtuals dips 10-20% in the coming days, it’s a good long-term buy!

Conclusion

The emergence of AI agents represents the dawn of a transformative trend.

From managing finances to automating daily tasks, their capabilities are expanding rapidly. For forward-thinking investors, this could be the megatrend that shapes the next generation of wealth creation.