Article · 15 min read

The Rise of Computer Use and Agentic Coworkers

Eric Zhou, Yoko Li, Seema Amble, Jennifer Li · Andreessen Horowitz Free Intermediate

The core move in our short answer is decomposing a workflow into steps a model can now do. This piece frames every workflow as a vertical AI company waiting to be built, and shows where agents can take over multi-step jobs. Read it to practice breaking a real job into the steps you would hand to software.

  • Every multi-step workflow is a candidate to be automated
  • Map the steps a human does, then ask which a model can own
  • Agents that collaborate across parties build real switching costs

The question it answers

  1. How do I spot an idea that AI just made possible that was not viable two years ago?

Read with it

  1. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  2. The definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for... paulgraham.com Essay · ~20 min read How to Get Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  3. 200+ candid conversations with Indian founders and investors on how they actually found their idea, spotted a trend, and... Apple Podcasts Podcast · podcast series (45-90 min episodes) The Neon Show (formerly 100x Entrepreneur) Siddhartha Ahluwalia
  4. YC's partners walk through concrete business models that were not viable before large language models: full-stack law firms,... Y Combinator (Lightcone Podcast) Video · ~45 min Startup Ideas You Can Now Build With AI (Lightcone Podcast) Garry Tan, Harj Taggar, Diana Hu, Jared Friedman
  5. Elad Gil is one of the most trusted operators-turned-investors on this exact question, and this piece cuts through the wrapper... Elad Gil (Elad Blog) Essay · ~12 min read Defensibility & Competition Elad Gil
  6. A living list of problem areas YC actively wants founders to tackle, useful as raw material and as a way to spot where the... Y Combinator Tool · Browse Requests for Startups Y Combinator
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →