Cathie Wood Suggests Tracking AI Agent Spending for Market Insights

Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, has highlighted a new trend for investors to watch: spending by autonomous AI agents. Speaking at Robinhood’s Summit in Houston, Wood suggested that investors should start "following the agents" to identify emerging technologies gaining traction. This updates her previous advice to "follow the developers." Autonomous agents, programmed to spend money on services or other software agents, could provide valuable insights into market demand.

Wood argues that cash transactions by AI agents offer a reliable signal of value. For instance, if millions of agents consistently use a specific API, it indicates the data's high value. Companies like Visa and Amazon are already testing autonomous transactions, with Visa running trials in Europe and Amazon launching its AgentCore Payments tool in August 2026. ARK Invest estimates that agents could consume over $8 trillion worth of goods and services online by 2030, potentially accelerating purchase cycles.

Autonomous agents are likely to spend on software, data, computing power, and other agents' services. This shift could disrupt traditional software sales models, favoring pay-by-query or pay-by-job systems over annual licenses. Crypto and stablecoins are well-suited for agent payments due to their programmable nature. Protocols like Coinbase’s x402 and the Machine Payments Protocol (MPP) enable seamless machine-to-machine transactions, with support from major players like Visa and Stripe.