Which specific tracks and projects are worth following in the fragmented pattern of AI agents?

Author: 0xJeff, formerly employed by The Spartan Group Translation: Yangz, Techub News

At a time when L1 and L2 are expanding beyond what we can count on two hands, liquidity fragmentation has been a challenge in the last year. Subsequently, the addition of Bitcoin L2 further complicated the situation. In countless ecosystems, mobility, attention, and user experience have become fragmented. Many L2 and DApps in these ecosystems lack meaningful “grippers”, and capital only flows to a few top-tier ecosystems with outstanding communities, excellent products, high-quality teams, and strong funds.

Now, the field of artificial intelligence agents is also experiencing the same trend. Although this trend is still in its early stages, individual agents, new agent tokens, and numerous Tickers have dazzled people. The field is facing an increasingly serious problem of agent fragmentation, with liquidity and attention too dispersed.

Artificial Intelligence Agent Iteration Trajectory

Artificial intelligence agents typically follow two sets of iterative trajectories:

Transitioning from Proxy to Framework

Some agents demonstrate their value by constantly attracting users to interact with real-time products on platforms (or other channels) such as CT (Crypto Twitter). Once they achieve product-market fit (PMF) and gain enough mindshare, other teams often want to replicate their results.

After that, the next logical step is to open source the proxy. This will allow the proxy to evolve into a framework, making it easier for others to experiment, integrate, and build on top of it. This can break the ceiling that limits the valuation of the proxy, making it more like L1.

Currently, we see this trend in the following AI agents, including zerebro, Dolos diary, AVA holo, Freysa ai, and Rei. Transitioning from agents to frameworks can reduce barriers to other agents joining their ecosystem, thereby expanding the ecosystem.

Continue to improve products as an individual agent

Not every agent can immediately find the point of convergence between product and market. Some agents must iterate and adjust continuously until they find the right use case. In addition, some teams also tend to keep their proprietary technology rather than open it to others.

For those who have tasted the sweetness and become particularly good at their work, there is no need to transition into a framework, they can remain individual agents. Examples of such agents include aixbt and griffain.

How should builders and investors face

So, what should we do for different agents?

For builders, they should focus on understanding market gaps and building products that can truly add value to users. Remember, agents should act as funnels that bring users into the ecosystem. In such a saturated market, it will only become increasingly difficult to stand out.

For investors, it is important to pay attention to the leaders or top projects in each category. In addition, doubling down during a downtrend may be the best way to consolidate attention in this fragmented field.

Different categories of current AI agents and projects worth paying attention to

KOL agency focusing on alpha

These agents dominate in providing alpha (insights, data synthesis, and analysis). Among them, aixbt is far ahead in user attention. Although this is not a winner-takes-all market, leaders always attract more attention.

Tokens worth paying attention to: AIXBT, REI, TRISIG, TRUST, AGENCY, KWANT

Investment DAO

These DAOs focus on strategic investments, with leaders often being those who can effectively execute (3,3) strategies and provide strong PnL for the project. (3,3 originally derived from OlympusDAO, later extended to refer to the most favorable outcome for both “players”).

Tokens worth paying attention to: VADER, AIXCB, AIMONICA, SEKOIA, WAI, AROK; Other noteworthy platforms in this space include Virtuals Protocol, ai16z, daos.world, and daos.fun.

AI and Metaverse/Game Agents

This is a burgeoning new track. Realis pioneered this trend, but Hyperfy is now the leader in this field. In addition, Smol and Arc Agent are exploring AI-driven games and gamification through reinforcement learning.

Tokens worth paying attention to: HYPER, REALIS, SMOL, NRN

DeFAI / Abstraction Layer

The competition on this track is intense, with multiple participants vying for dominance. Wayfinder’s token is expected to change the game rules of this track. (DeFAI is a new type of DeFi: the first wave of DeFAI projects is emerging, focusing mainly on three areas including abstraction layer, autonomous trading agent, and AI-driven DApp)

Tokens worth paying attention to: GRIFFAIN, ANON, GRIFT, NEUR

Self-Trading Agent

This narrative is still in its early stages, but has enormous potential. Multiple participants are attempting to compete with ‘hooman’ (an incorrect spelling of ‘human’, typically used to describe animals) and agents to generate huge returns.

Notable tokens: ASYM, PPCOIN, GEKKO, TONY

Open source framework

Popular framework tokens support proxies by providing open-source solutions. Currently, AI16Z/Eliza is the largest open-source framework. Of course, there are many other models besides this.

Tokens worth paying attention to: AI16Z/ELIZA, GAME (Virtuals), ARC (Rig)

Music

Artificial intelligence agents are entering the field of music through album releases or music creation. Zerebro leads this trend with an outstanding album, and many agents are entering this niche field through cross-collaborations with world-class DJs. For example, Luna has collaborated with renowned Asian DJ Wukong, supported by Music By Virtuals. This collaboration has also received support from Sony and Tencent Music’s joint venture music brand Liquid State.

Tokens worth paying attention to: ZEREBRO, MUSIC, BEATS

3D Model

Ava is undoubtedly a leader in the field of 3D modeling. Holoworld AI has been collaborating with various teams to develop and deploy 3D models in different frameworks and ecosystems.

Token worth attention: AVA

Artificial Intelligence Idol (AIDOL)

This trend started with the AI idol Luna on TikTok and Twitter. Although the initial craze has faded, this niche market has created opportunities for proxy agents to provide more practical features. Luna is still the most popular AI idol, and compared to when she was launched, she now has more personality and can do more things. For example, she once served as an intern AI for Story Protocol and received a salary of $7000 for holding a board meeting.

Tokens worth paying attention to: LUNA, ELIZA, MOE

AI Memecoin

These Memecoins are either launched by AI agents or are related to legends about AI.

Notable tokens to watch: GOAT, FARTCOIN, ACT

Video/Photography

This is a new emerging field guided by Kween. However, it is currently unclear whether the high-quality videos created by Kween are driven by artificial intelligence agents. In addition, Sandwatch has launched the first artificial intelligence video agent framework, the potential of which has yet to be fully realized.

Tokens worth paying attention to: KWEEN, SANDY

Data

In the field of artificial intelligence, data is the digital key that determines the development and performance of agents. Cookie DAO is leading this niche track by providing data for both humans and artificial intelligence agents.

Tokens worth attention: COOKIE, NOMAI

Artificial Intelligence Application Store

This category focuses on practical artificial intelligence applications, including GenAI tools, games, and productivity enhancers. Alchemist is currently the top ecosystem in this track, while MyShell.AI focuses on image generation and waifu simulators (note: wife or wife, often refers to fictional female characters in anime and game culture and is considered an ideal partner), but its token has not yet been launched.

Tokens worth attention: $ALCH

NSFW Proxy

It’s an emerging market, and affiliates often play the role of hot KOLs, interacting with users around the clock. Lush, Nectar, and Oh are among the top performers, but only Lush has launched the token at the moment. (Note: NSFW stands for Not Suitable for Workplace)

Notable Token: LUSH

Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) / DeAI Infrastructure

This sub-segment track enables fully autonomous agents to resist human interference such as hacker attacks or rug pull. (Further reading: Love, Death, Robots)

Tokens worth paying attention to: FAI, PHALA, SPORE

Focused on developing practical tools

This sub-track includes topics such as artificial intelligence security, code analysis, and practical tools that are crucial for industry development. Soleng is my personal favorite because it can serve as a developer friend, helping non-technical investors analyze protocol code or GitHub repositories.

Tokens worth attention: SOLENG, H4CK, CERTAI, JAIL

Robot/Embedded Artificial Intelligence

This is an exciting but still developing niche track, with specific use cases including the world’s first robot AI agent SAM that launches Memecoin SAM. OpenAI’s achievements in embedded artificial intelligence this year may attract more attention to this track.

Tokens worth paying attention to: SAM

In addition to the above 17 sub-tracks, there are actually many categories that are not included. The fragmentation of AI agents has gotten out of control, and my personal investment strategy is to focus on the most attention-grabbing narratives and predict the narratives that may attract attention in the future.

The hot tracks that I am currently focused on and will continue to gain investor mindshare include DeFAI, autonomous trading agents, investment DAOs, and metaverse agents. In addition, with the arrival of the first/second quarter of this year, I expect to attract more attention, and the actively preparing hot tracks include NSFW agents, TEE and other DeAI infrastructure (opML, zkML, POSP, etc.), robots, and practical tools focusing on development.

Summary

The fragmentation of AI agents highlights the complexity and opportunities in this rapidly developing field. Builders and investors should not chase every emerging trend, but should focus on areas with integration and long-term growth potential.

For builders, the top priority is to create scalable differentiated products to meet specific user needs. For investors, supporting projects with strong mindshare and high potential narrative positioning will be the key to freely navigate in this fragmented landscape. The next wave of innovation will come from builders who can simplify chaotic situations and create an ecosystem that combines liquidity, attention, and value.