Earlier this month in Denver, our founder and chairman Jamie Burke took the stage to share a powerful update on The Post Web, our latest (and evolving) thesis on the next era of the internet.
The core message? The internet as we know it has become a machine for maximizing attention. It’s optimized for engagement, not outcomes. But a new paradigm is emerging, one where autonomous agents shift the web’s center of gravity from extraction to intention, and from distraction to purpose.
This wasn’t just a look back at the last decade of investing in frontier tech. It was a forward-facing manifesto for what comes next: a machine-first internet, coordinated by agents, fueled by incentives, and designed to serve intentions, not eyeballs.
This is the kind of talk that doesn’t just explain the future, it gives you a framework to build it.
What You’ll Learn in the Talk
Jamie covered a lot of ground in 30 minutes, but a few core themes stood out loud and clear. Here’s what we’re still thinking about days later:
- The Attention Economy is dead. Long live the Intention Economy. We’re entering a world where AI agents, not users, navigate the internet. As Jamie put it, “Agents care about optimal outcomes. They don’t care about ethics.” That means the web will shift from capturing attention to fulfilling intent. It’s a win for logic, optimization, and ultimately, the end user.
- Web3 was never meant for humans. Let’s face it: daily usage of Web3 has flatlined. Why? It’s infrastructure, not experience. Agents make Web3 usable. LLMs create natural interfaces, agents do the heavy lifting.
- Founders need a new playbook. The startup model is being rewritten. We’re not building apps anymore, we’re designing systems. That means thinking in frameworks, not funnels. Anti-fragility over MVPs. Moats will come from agent trust, network density, and optimized consensus.
- Tokens aren’t hype…they’re infrastructure. Token engineering will be critical in The Post Web. Not just to fund projects, but to align agents, enforce behavior, and enable incentive-based coordination at scale.
- Zero to Many: a framework for building in The Post Web. We’re releasing a new resource to help founders, investors, and systems thinkers build for this paradigm shift.
As Jamie reminded the room, navigating this next chapter means accepting that disruption is the default. In the Post Web, survival isn’t about building the biggest moat—it’s about designing systems that can adapt, evolve, and thrive in constant change.
Want More on The Post Web?
Stay ahead at PostWeb.io to access our latest Post Web thesis, audio documentary episodes, our newly launched accelerator program, and much more. Chapters One & Two now out with more to come soon.
