AI Agents: Beyond the Hype

Everyone's talking about AI agents.

• "Agents will replace jobs."
• "Agents will automate everything."
• "Agents are the future."

However, the reality is far more complex. AI agents are not just chat interfaces or simple API calls. These are full-stack engineering beasts that require integration and coordination across multiple layers of technology. The user may see it as simple, but under the hood ("iceberg") it's anything but simple and complex infrastructure.

The Technology Stack

Let's break it down:

1. Front-end - The user interface, but that's just the surface.
2. Memory - Managing short-term and long-term context.
3. Authentication - Identity verification, security, and access control.
4. Tools - External plugins, search capabilities, integrations.
5. Agentic Observability - Monitoring, logging, and performance tracking.
6. Agent Orchestration - Multi-agent coordination, execution, automation.
7. Model Routing - Directing queries to the right AI models.
8. Foundational Models - The LLMs that power the agent's reasoning.
9. ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) - Data ingestion and processing pipelines.
10. Database - Vector stores and structured storage for knowledge retention.
11. Infrastructure/Base - Compute environments and cloud execution.
12. CPU/GPU Providers - The backbone of AI model execution.

Looking Ahead

In summary, AI agents aren't just "smart chatbots" - they're full-stack AI systems requiring seamless orchestration across multiple layers. In addition, there are many companies developing similar technologies right now, fueled by hype and funding. I believe that the market won't stay this fragmented - consolidation is inevitable (I believe if you come back to this post in 3 years 70% of the companies below will basically not exist anymore).

The winners? Those who bridge AI complexity with real business value by mastering engineering complexity and delivering seamless UX simplicity for users.

Author

AiUTOMATING PEOPLE, ABN ASIA was founded by people with deep roots in academia, with work experience in the US, Holland, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam. ABN Asia is where academia and technology meet opportunity. With our cutting-edge solutions and competent software development services, we're helping businesses level up and take on the global scene. Our commitment: Faster. Better. More reliable. In most cases: Cheaper as well.

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