Most agent orchestration assumes the output is code or API calls. Spine Swarm (YC S23) takes a different path: agents collaborate on an infinite visual canvas to produce financial models, competitive analyses, and pitch decks. The canvas itself becomes the coordination primitive, replacing function calls and return values with spatial layout and artifact persistence.
This matters because financial modeling workflows don't fit the code-execution pattern. The output is a spreadsheet with linked cells, a slide deck with sourced charts, or a market-sizing model with scenario tabs. The canvas architecture handles these artifacts natively, but it introduces new problems around state management, conflict resolution, and observability.
Canvas as Shared State
Traditional agent orchestration uses message queues or function calls. Agent A returns a JSON blob, Agent B consumes it, Agent C validates. Spine replaces this with spatial primitives:
Regions: Each agent claims a canvas region (a spreadsheet tab, a slide, a chart).
