Undoubtedly you will have heard or read about the emergence of AI Agents in the past few months, particularly with what it’s been able to unlock for companies operating in the business-to-business (B2B) space.

As with any emerging technology, there seems to always be a contrail of so called ‘experts’ not too far behind, who use technical jargon and acronyms that confuse those trying to learn more about the potential impact it may have. To remedy this, we wanted to continue our theme of being as transparent as possible, and highlight the trends that we’ve seen this technological change facilitate within early stage technology companies.

Agentic AI refers to AI powered programmes that can make decisions and take actions on their own to achieve goals, much like a virtual employee. In plain English, these systems don’t just answer questions or provide predictions, they perform tasks autonomously. For example, an agentic AI can be told the goal of processing a customer request and then figure out all the steps to resolve it without needing a person to micromanage each individual step. This is why there’s so much talk about AI replacing jobs: these agents can handle routine work 24/7 without breaks, consistently and at scale with fewer employees needed to oversee this process.

Why the Rapid Adoption? Key Facts & Stats

The rapid adoption of agentic AI is driven by its dramatic impact on efficiency and scale. Businesses large and small are racing to deploy these AI agents. According to a recent global survey, 29% of organizations are already using agentic AI, and 44% plan to implement it within the next year . In practice, companies see that tasks which once required hiring additional staff can now be handled by AI. Gartner even projects that by 2029, agentic AI will resolve 80% of common customer service issues autonomously, potentially cutting those operational costs by 30%. In other words, many tedious or repetitive jobs can be done faster and cheaper by AI, and businesses are seizing that opportunity. It’s no surprise the market for AI agents is growing nearly 45% annually and is expected to reach tens of billions of dollars within a few years . Investors are recognising this too (over $3.8 billion was invested in AI agent start-ups in 2024 alone) because they see that headcount, which has typically been the rate limiting factor for scale, is now able to be aided by tools that are more effective and efficient.

Crucially, agentic AI isn’t magic or hype, it’s built on real advances in AI’s capabilities. Modern AI agents combine several “brains” in one: they can understand language (to listen and speak with users), generate content or code, and make reasoned decisions toward a goal. Unlike older software automation that required every step to be pre-programmed, an AI agent just needs a goal and it figures out the rest on the fly. This flexibility means agentic AI can tackle complex workflows and adapt to different and evolving situations, which massively broadens the range of tasks that can be automated.

Real-World Examples from Our Portfolio

At Haatch, we’re backing companies like DoFlo, which is using agentic AI to automate workflows at scale, currently within the real estate and surveying sectors. Their drag-and-drop platform lets businesses build AI-powered processes that run themselves, charging per workflow rather than paying full-time staff. With £240,000 in annual recurring revenue, DoFlo is proving how AI agents can deliver efficiency and value from day one. It’s a model that scales effortlessly as adoption grows, without the need for increased headcount.

Another standout is Inicio AI, founded by financial services veteran Rachel Curtis. Their conversational AI replaces call centre agents for affordability checks, letting customers complete them privately and securely. With £357,000 in annual recurring revenue and unique FCA approval to gather and repurpose financial data, Inicio AI is scaling fast, with 17 major clients already on board. Its ability to monetise both the data collection and resale of it makes it a uniquely powerful business model in a regulated space.

Why Agentic AI Startups Are Set Up for Scale

The common thread with these companies is high scalability. By leveraging AI agents to do the heavy lifting, startups like DoFlo and Inicio AI can grow revenue exponentially without a corresponding rise in costs. In traditional businesses, serving more customers often means hiring more staff, which slows growth and eats into margins. But an AI agent can replicate the work of dozens of employees once it’s built and trained. It works round the clock and can be replicated in the cloud at minimal cost. This means a business built on agentic AI can acquire new customers or handle surges in demand with far less friction. For investors, that translates to the potential for outsized returns: a small company can very quickly become a large one when each new contract or user doesn’t require a surge in human resource requirements.

It’s also worth noting that agentic AI will only improve over time, further boosting efficiency. These agents learn from each interaction, refining their performance. And because they operate in software, their improvements roll out instantly across the entire business, akin to having a workforce that gets better every night and never forgets a lesson. This compounding effect is another reason adoption is accelerating as large companies are now facing pressure to begin refiniting their systems in order to move ahead of their slower competitors.

Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Takeaways

Agentic AI is moving fast from buzzword to backbone of business operations. Investors and executives in their 40s, 50s, and beyond should pay attention not just to the headlines of “AI replacing jobs,” but to how it’s happening. In simple terms, AI agents are like digital workers that can do a growing list of tasks reliably and at scale. The numbers back this up: most companies are either already on board or planning to use these technologies imminently , and new startups in this space are achieving significant revenues early with relatively low burn rates. When you hear that, for instance, a telecom company boosted sales 40% after giving its staff an AI assistant , or that 85% of enterprises will use AI agents by 2025 , it’s clear this is not a niche trend but a fundamental shift.

In summary, Agentic AI is reshaping the way businesses operate by taking on repetitive tasks autonomously, unlocking faster growth with lower costs. DoFlo and Inicio AI are just two examples of how companies are already delivering disruption and scalable success in this space, part of a wider shift that nearly three-quarters of organisations will have started adopting by next year.