13 Businesses for the Age of AI

TL;DR The speaker identifies 13 specific business types to build in the age of AI agents. These businesses leverage new technologies or address human needs that technology cannot replace.

AI-native service firms and offline experiences drive high margins

• Agents perform 90% of the work while humans review exceptions.
• Bookkeeping is an example where agents prepare books and humans finalize them.
• Offline businesses like communal saunas sell membership experiences.
• Start with a low-cost minimum viable product before opening a physical location.

Distribution and data ownership create valuable assets

• Organic audiences are critical because paid advertising costs are rising.
• Use the ACP funnel to build an audience, then a community, then a product.
• Proprietary data sets are valuable because large models lack unique information.
• Sell useful niche information to advertisers or large AI labs.

Specialized tools and physical products offer competitive advantages

• Domain-specific harnesses add workflow rules and memory to general AI models.
• Robotics and physical AI provide services like automated window cleaning.
• Physical products for niche fan followings can command high prices.
• AI helps design and prototype hardware for specific customer groups.

Infrastructure and care sectors meet essential market demands

• Compute and energy are scarce inputs required for all AI agents.
• Health and longevity services target older adults who need specialized care.
• Marketplaces and social networks connect supply and demand efficiently.
• Real assets like industrial workshops support local trades and logistics.

Security and vertical agents protect workflows and automate tasks

• Vertical agents handle recurring jobs like purchasing for restaurants.
• Software security protects sensitive data from leaks and hacks.
• Agent access control limits what systems can read or write.
• Personal security services may grow as digital threats increase.