a16z's State of Markets II: Agents Now Consume 5x Human Token Volume

a16z has released the second edition of its "State of Markets II" report, led by partner David George, using over 100 charts to review the tech and capital market landscape in the first half of 2026. The core thesis: "humans are now the minority of AI users" — Agent token consumption is already nearly 5x that of direct human conversation, up 14x since February this year.

Confirmed

• Agents consume roughly 5x the tokens of humans, a 14x increase in two months (m6, m8)
• Based on YipitData, the median vendor spend of the top 1% of companies by AI spend is about 8x that of the top 10%, showing that large-scale AI adopters remain a minority (m1, m3)
• Only about 30% of S&P 500 companies quantitatively disclose AI's actual impact (m3)
• AI infrastructure funding flows: of every $100, about $50 goes to chips, $20 to power, $15 to networking equipment, and $15 to cooling/construction/land (m4)
• 98% of US households have yet to pay for AI (m7)
• The report lays out seven major themes for the next five years: consumer Agents, robotics, autonomous driving and autonomous systems, AI × biotech, personal health, AI diffusion inside enterprises, and a new wave of US-related themes (m5)
• Only a few million people actually use AI Agents today, but a16z believes Agents will ultimately serve billions of internet users, implying enormous value potential; for reference, Meta and Google currently generate substantial annual revenue per US user (m2)

Why it matters

The report depicts highly uneven AI adoption: heavy users are accelerating ahead while the vast majority of businesses and households have yet to pay, meaning market penetration and economic value remain wide open. The data on infrastructure capital flowing into chips and power also offers a framework for identifying investment opportunities across the AI supply chain.

2026-10-01 ~ 2026-10-02 · 8 related posts

• [source] Top 1% of companies outspend top 10% on AI by 8x, a16z data shows — a16z · 2026-10-01
• [source] a16z's State of Markets II: agents burn 5x more tokens than humans, up 14x since February — srimisra · 2026-10-01
• [source] a16z: every $100 into AI buildout sends $50 to chips, $20 to power; 100+ charts — demian_ai · 2026-10-02
• a16z's 100-chart State of Markets II: tech drives 76% of S&P 500 earnings growth — gaganghotra_ · 2026-10-02
• a16z: AI agents now consume 5x more tokens than humans, up 14x since February — FinanceYF5 · 2026-10-02
• Top 1% AI Spenders Outlay 8x More Than Top 10%, a16z Data Shows — FinanceYF5 · 2026-10-02
• Only Millions Use AI Agents Today — a16z Sees Billions of Users Ahead — FinanceYF5 · 2026-10-02
• a16z Maps Seven Themes for the Next Five Years: Agents, Robots, Bio and More — FinanceYF5 · 2026-10-02