Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2026. Read them in this 18th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Minna Song, co-founder and CEO and Tony Stoyanov, co-founder and CTO, EliseAI
As we look toward 2026, the AI landscape is shifting from experimentation to execution. After years of breakthrough announcements and breathless hype cycles, the industry is entering a new era that will be defined by practical implementation, vertical specialization and real-world impact.
The biggest stories of 2026 won’t be another model release or capability benchmark. Instead, they will be about AI finally delivering on its promises in the sectors that matter most: healthcare, housing, education, and transportation. They will be about tools that work reliably, not just impressively. Next year will be about the companies that solve complete problems, not just provide building blocks.
We’re also approaching critical inflection points in how AI systems retain context, how developers work alongside intelligent tools, and where the next generation of unicorns will emerge.
Here’s what we see coming:
Minna’s predictions
The next AI unicorns will emerge from “boring” industries.
The next generation of billion-dollar AI companies will come from essential sectors like housing, healthcare, transportation, and education – not novelty chatbots or photo apps. The most meaningful opportunities lie in solving complex, real-world problems that power society’s infrastructure. These are also the companies that will outlast the AI bubble.
Vertical AI will overtake horizontal platforms.
2026 will mark the turning point where industry-specific AI surpasses general-purpose tools. Buyers don’t want half-solutions – they want products that solve 100% of their workflows out of the box. Horizontal platforms provide the ingredients; vertical AI delivers the finished product.
Tony’s Predictions
2026 will be the year of dependable, not dazzling, AI.
Next year won’t be about new breakthroughs; it’ll be about execution. Everything will be cheaper, faster, and more reliable. The real story in AI will be about systems that finally work as promised – quietly transforming industries behind the scenes.
Engineers will become more valuable, not obsolete.
AI won’t replace software engineers – it’ll amplify them. While AI can automate routine coding tasks, defining how complex systems behave still requires human expertise. The future of development is collaborative, not autonomous.
Memory will be AI’s next frontier.
AI can hold a great five-minute conversation, but it still forgets the last thirty. Long-term context is the missing piece that could change everything – and a major focus for 2026.
Video will see the fastest AI progress.
Expect dramatic leaps in video generation, editing, and analysis. The combination of mature data pipelines and growing compute power is setting the stage for big, visible advances in this space.
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