--- title: "The Agent Era is minting new winners, while the rest of the web quietly pivots" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296211511.md" description: "As we push deeper into 2026, the \"Agent Era\" is paying off for enterprise platforms like GitLab and Five9. Meanwhile, consumer communities like Zhihu face monetization hurdles, and SharpLink embraces a bizarre crypto pivot to survive. Fringe players remain invisible in the background." datetime: "2026-08-18T10:12:23.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296211511.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296211511.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296211511.md) --- # The Agent Era is minting new winners, while the rest of the web quietly pivots We are far enough into 2026 to see exactly who is successfully riding the generative AI wave and who is merely treading water. If you want proof that the "Agent Era" is becoming a structural reality rather than a pitch deck buzzword, look no further than the enterprise software layer. GitLab (GTLB.US) just posted a 23% revenue bump in its Q1 FY2027 results, driven explicitly by the traction of its Duo Agent Platform. When developers start actively offloading workflow automation to specialized AI agents, the bottom line responds—and despite some recent profit-taking by investors, GitLab is cementing its indispensable role in the modern dev stack. A similar story of AI-driven revitalization is playing out at Five9 (FIVN.US). The cloud contact center platform saw its AI-related revenue surge an astonishing 78% in the second quarter. By seamlessly integrating autonomous voice agents, like its recent tie-up with Regal, Five9 is essentially promising to replace human friction with intelligent automation. Wall Street has aggressively bought into this narrative, sending its stock up significantly this year to vastly outpace the broader software sector. But the transition to this automated future is brutal for legacy content and creator networks. Zhihu (ZTG.US), the prominent Chinese Q&A community, remains bogged down in a difficult transition. Its 2025 numbers reveal shrinking revenue across both paid memberships and marketing services. While they managed to squeeze out a tiny adjusted profit by restructuring side businesses like vocational training, the fundamental struggle of monetizing a human-driven content ecosystem remains unresolved in an age where AI answers everything instantly. Then there are the platforms that are simply giving up their original premise to become something else entirely. In one of the most bizarre pivots of the year, SharpLink Gaming (SBET.US) effectively sold off its sports betting affiliate business to become an Ethereum proxy. Armed with nearly 889,000 ETH by mid-2026, its balance sheet is now swinging wildly based on crypto market mark-to-market valuations, generating massive paper losses while claiming higher revenue from staking yields. It is less of an affiliate marketing tech company now and more of a decentralized finance experiment. Away from the digital noise, the hardware and industrial sectors are quietly making structural moves. New Horizon Aircraft (HOVR.US) is securing real momentum for its hybrid eVTOLs, recently landing a $600 million letter of intent for up to 100 aircraft. Meanwhile, legacy industrial stalwart Barnes Group (B.US) continues to fortify its aerospace manufacturing operations, having secured its war chest with a massive senior notes offering to fund its unglamorous but essential engineering work. Finally, it's worth noting the companies currently drifting through the quiet void of the news cycle. Tech infrastructure players like Applovin (APLX.US) in ad-tech, RADCOM (RDDC.US) in telecom analytics, and One Stop Systems (OSS.US) in edge computing are operating essentially in the dark right now, completely overshadowed by the AI boom. Throw in complete ghosts like Deep Rock Alliance (DRAL.US), and you get a vivid picture of the current market reality: if you aren't integrating an autonomous agent or hoarding crypto reserves, the modern internet economy barely registers your existence. ### Related Stocks - [HOVR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HOVR.US.md) - [GTLB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GTLB.US.md) - [B.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/B.US.md) - [ZTG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ZTG.US.md) - [FIVN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FIVN.US.md) - [OSS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/OSS.US.md) - [SBET.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SBET.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [A $2 Million Reason Why Barrick Mining Stock Is Down](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295561972.md) - [GitLab Chief Accounting Officer Simon Mundy disposes of shares worth $331.550](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295577431.md) - [Canada's Horizon signs letter of intent to sell up to 100 hybrid-electric aircraft worth $600 million](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293306343.md) - [As GitLab Expands Its Google Cloud Deal, Should You Buy GTLB Stock?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283180167.md) - [CORRECTED-Barrick Mining Q2 Adjusted EPS USD 0.82 Vs. IBES Estimate USD 0.82 (Aug 10)](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295564784.md)