Jeremy Allaire - jerallaire.arc(@jerallaire ):Loved this piece I think one of the missing layers not discussed but worth calling out is the changing unit economics and pricing models The shift to pay per use, agent service and action consumption on these new headless layers will depend on agentic economic layers designed for this model. And increasingly (mostly) the actions will cross agent boundaries and require new specific forms of economic coordination between agents. Agents will generate smart contracts , dynamically binding with other agents and then facilitating narrow channels of value exchange.

Jeremy Allaire - jerallaire.arc@jerallaire

2026.05.14 00:53

Loved this piece I think one of the missing layers not discussed but worth calling out is the changing unit economics and pricing models The shift to pay per use, agent service and action consumption on these new headless layers will depend on agentic economic layers designed for this model. And increasingly (mostly) the actions will cross agent boundaries and require new specific forms of economic coordination between agents. Agents will generate smart contracts , dynamically binding with other agents and then facilitating narrow channels of value exchange.

a16z@a16z

2026.05.13 22:09

As system of record incumbents shift to headless agents, they are making an implicit bet that the data layer will remain the source of value. Startups will compete on a new set of factors, like proprietary data, owning the action layer, real-world execution, and selling to technical buyers. The next generation of systems of record is already starting to look agentic such that they capture the context, initiate the work, and record the data exhaust. Full piece from a16z's Seema Amble: