Akamai vs Skai

a16z Leads Series A in Private Network Startup doxxnet

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced it is leading a Series A investment in doxxnet, a startup building a private, parallel internet infrastructure for individuals and AI agents. doxxnet offers a software-defined global network with non-Internet domains, encrypted peer-to-peer communication, and DNS-level threat protection, all without requiring personal information like email or phone. The company is founded by Barrett Lyon, known for Prolexic (acquired by Akamai), BitGravity, and Defense.net. The funding will support the development of its 'Agentic Defined Networking' concept, which allows users and their agents to configure and control the network. The announcement highlights growing privacy needs driven by AI agents that operate with access to user data.

• a16z is leading a Series A investment in doxxnet.
• doxxnet provides a private, parallel internet infrastructure for users and AI agents.
• doxxnet was founded by Barrett Lyon, who previously founded Prolexic, BitGravity, and Defense.net.

Akamai Announces $11.6 Billion Multi-year Agreement with Anthropic to Support Growing Demand

Akamai today announced a significantly expanded relationship with Anthropic for $11.6 billion of contractual commitment over seven years.

AI companies adopt risky 'take-or-pay' contracts for compute

The AI industry is increasingly relying on take-or-pay contracts to secure computing power, a model borrowed from the energy sector. These agreements require AI companies to pay for GPUs, server time, and other inputs regardless of usage, creating significant financial risks. The payments are backed by expected future revenue, but there are concerns about whether AI revenues will materialize in time to meet payment schedules. Off-balance-sheet commitments are growing, with estimates ranging from $1.65 trillion to $3 trillion. Major players like Anthropic and OpenAI have committed billions, while companies like CoreWeave and Alphabet rely heavily on such contracts. Financial analysts and regulators warn that the entire system could collapse if companies fail to secure enough capital. The Bank of International Settlements has highlighted potential systemic risks, particularly through special purpose vehicles. The article notes that major banks and investors are closely monitoring this trend, with experts predicting a 'wave of disputes' as the sector matures.

• Take-or-pay contracts obligate AI companies to pay for compute regardless of usage, similar to energy sector agreements.
• Anthropic committed $750 billion for compute through 2030; OpenAI could spend over $500 billion in the next 10 years.
• Off-balance-sheet commitments in tech sector estimated at $1.65 trillion to $3 trillion.

Skai Launches Agent Connect, Opening Its Omnichannel Marketing Infrastructure to External AI Agents

Skai announced the launch of Agent Connect, a new product that opens its omnichannel marketing infrastructure to external AI agents via MCP. The newsroom also highlights new press releases on Q2 2026 ad spend trends and the company being named Overall AdTech Company of the Year in the 2026 MarTech Breakthrough Awards.

Survey: Media Buyers Unready for Agentic Revolution

Kiri Masters argues that despite widespread announcements of AI agents for media buying, most media buyers and brands lack the data infrastructure and integrations required to adopt agentic workflows. A Skai survey of 332 paid media practitioners found a mean 'agentic readiness' score of 35.7/100, with 30% unprepared, 49% exploring, and only 3% having AI embedded at scale. Retail media and CPG brands score below the 'Building' tier, and very few organisations expose agent-readable data or end-to-end orchestration. The piece highlights the gap between C-suite enthusiasm and practitioner readiness and warns that agentic advantages will depend on retailers and platforms making data accessible to agents.

• Skai surveyed 332 paid media practitioners in April and scored them across nine dimensions of agentic readiness.
• The mean agentic readiness score across respondents was 35.7 out of 100.
• 30% of respondents were in the 'Unprepared' tier, 49% were 'Exploring', and 3% reported AI embedded at scale.