The pace at which technology is emerging is showing no signs of slowing.
If the last few years were about experimenting with AI, 2026 will be about living with the consequences.
From agentic systems and instant payments to deepfake-driven fraud and AI-powered cyber attacks, technology is now moving deeper into business operations than ever before.
Business leaders across FinTech, cybersecurity, software and investment have shared their predictions for the year ahead.
Will the AI bubble burst?
Bill Conner, president and CEO at Jitterbit, has argued that 2026 will reward organisations building the plumbing – not the pitch deck.
Jitterbit is the creator of Harmony, which it describes as ‘the first layered AI and low-code automation platform’.
“If there is an AI bubble, it will only burst for the people building on hype instead of solid foundations,” he said.
“The ones who’ll come out on top in 2026 are those investing in strong connections; between their data, their systems, and their people. AI can’t do anything meaningful if it’s stuck in disconnected silos.
“The companies really winning right now, and who will stay winning in 2026, are the ones using integration and automation to turn accountable AI from a shiny idea into actual business results. The gap between hype and real, long-term impact ultimately comes down to execution.
“When your data moves smoothly and your systems can actually talk to each other, AI stops being another buzzword and it starts making a real difference.
“If there is an AI bubble and it does burst for those building on hype, it won’t signal the end of progress, but rather a shift toward organisations that prioritise substance, integration, and sustainable innovation.”
His outlook is shared by TR Vishwanath (above), co-founder and CTO at Glean, which creates AI assistants and agents.
Vishwanath added: “In 2026, the biggest shift won’t be an AI ‘winter’, it’ll be a reckoning. Enterprises will realise the next wave of value isn’t locked behind AGI (artificial general intelligence); it’s in mastering the tools we already have. The winners will be the ones focused on turning today’s model capabilities into real products and ROI.
“The dreamers waiting for a quantum leap in intelligence will be left waiting.”
Stablecoins move ‘downstream’ into traditional finance
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies which purport to maintain a stable value by being pegged 1:1 to a fiat asset such as the US dollar – avoiding the sometimes extreme price volatility of other cryptos.
Laurent Descout, co-founder and CEO at cross-border payments FinTech Neo, believes stablecoins are no longer confined to crypto circles.
“Stablecoins are no longer just niche crypto innovation. They have moved to a mainstream financial tool,” he said.
“Over the next year, adoption will move beyond crypto-native users to broader financial flows, embedding stablecoins more deeply into traditional finance.”
That is a view shared by Sean Forward (above), business manager, digital currency at tech-enabled clearing bank ClearBank.
“Institutional adoption of digital assets is anticipated to accelerate in 2026 as traditional finance begins integrating them into its core operations.
“While we can expect to see sovereign entities starting to hold Bitcoin reserves, more broadly, it won’t be surprising if Bitcoin starts to gradually lose its prominence, giving way to a more stable, regulated, and sustainable growth model.
“Stablecoin supply is projected to double, hitting $500 billion by the end of the year and potentially reaching $2 trillion by 2030. Regulatory clarity, particularly in the US with the GENIUS Act and in Hong Kong, which mandates 100% reserve backing, is expected to boost institutional confidence.”
Embedded finance
Andrew Crocombe, head of embedded banking propositions at ClearBank, believes embedded finance poses a major opportunity for businesses in the UK next year.
“Next year we expect next-generation, API-based banks to become the standard for embedded account and payments services, allowing corporates to create seamless experiences that deepen engagement, increase customer loyalty and drive new revenue streams.
“By building on top of a regulated bank’s proven infrastructure, businesses can deliver competitive and compliant services and features, such as FSCS protection on eligible deposits, without incurring the substantial cost of obtaining a banking licence. It also means brands don’t need to compromise the quality of their services and maintain a customer experience consistent with their brand.
“As embedded finance evolves, brands adopting these solutions will set themselves apart, delivering frictionless, secure, and personalised financial experiences that meet the demands of tomorrow’s customers.”
CFOs ‘take accountability’ for AI assurance
Aaron Harris, CTO of accountancy giant Sage, has predicted that finance leaders will become the internal owners of AI trust.
“As this technology plays a bigger role in day-to-day decisions, there’s a growing expectation that CFOs will take accountability for how they behave,” he said.
He argued CFOs “won’t be able to rely on blind trust, because in finance, ‘almost right’ is wrong,” and said that they will demand “visibility into why a model reached a recommendation” and “how reliably those decisions can be traced and audited”.
AI agents become a ‘critical new attack surface’
Jamie Moles, senior technical manager at ExtraHop, has warned that agentic AI is creating new security problems faster than organisations can govern them.
ExtaHop aims to give organisations visibility into the cyber threats, vulnerabilities and network performance issues that evade their existing security and IT tools.
“AI agents are increasingly being integrated into business workflows and already becoming a new attack surface as most organisations still have no idea how to govern them,” he said.
“Blind trust in opaque systems is how breaches happen.”
The AI team-mate
Laura Ellis (below), VP of AI and data at unified cybersecurity platform Rapid7, believes that AI will move from assistant to team-mate inside security operations.
“In 2026, AI within the SOC (security operations centre) will mature from a helpful tool into an active collaborator. It will operate as a trusted teammate.
“The most effective AI SOCs will not compromise on explainability.
“Models that cannot show their logic may lose their license to act.”
AI-driven attacks become ‘highly adaptive’
Keepit is a cloud data protection platform for SaaS apps.
Kim Larsen, its chief information security officer, said: “AI-driven attacks will become highly adaptive. By 2026, adversaries will use AI systems that map entire infrastructures in seconds, identify weak links deep in the supply chain, and shift tactics in real time to bypass defenses.
“The organisations that win will be those that use AI to enhance – not replace – human judgment.”
‘Worm epidemic’ warning
Dmitry Volkov, CEO at Group-IB, another cybersecurity firm, has predicted that AI will drive the rise of malicious software.
He said: “With the integration of AI, a concerning category of self-propagating malware is fast emerging.”
“In 2026, the shift for the worse is certain.
“Threat actors designing AI-driven self-propagating malware will potentially lead to the first truly AI-driven worm epidemic.”
Deepfakes become ‘default social engineering tool’
X-PHY is behind autonomous hardware-based cybersecurity technology.
Camellia Chan (above), its CEO and co-founder, has predicted tightening scrutiny of AI security and growing policy pressure.
She said: “In 2026, there will be calls for more stringent regulations and transparency around AI systems, with a focus on critical infrastructure, financial services and healthcare.
“Deepfakes will become the default social engineering tool by year-end 2026.”
She also warned that “we are firmly in an age where trusting is unfortunately a vulnerability”.
Human-agent teaming
Steven Webb, UK CTO at multinational IT and consulting giant Capgemini, said that businesses will put human-agent collaboration under the microscope.
He added: “Over the next year, businesses will pour effort into ironing out the fundamentals – from defining which tasks should be delegated to agents, to tackling practical questions such as how to charge for agentic workloads and measure their performance.
“Sandbox initiatives such as the UK government’s AI Growth Lab will become crucial.”
Platform wars enter a new phase
Rajiv Ramaswami, CEO of Nutanix, a cloud platform for running apps, data and AI, is predicting a long competitive cycle.
“We’re entering a decade of platform wars, where success won’t hinge on individual features but on the strength and flexibility of the entire platform,” he said.
“The fastest path to innovation will come from platforms that embrace openness: choice of containers, choice of LLMs, and choice of GPUs.”
Leadership clarity becomes the advantage
Jeremy Walters, CEO of business services firm Paragon Group, argued that the winning organisations will be those led with steadiness and clarity.
“In 2026, the defining leadership skill won’t be technical mastery or operational efficiency – it will be the ability to bring clarity to complexity,” he explained.
“Technology can’t absorb uncertainty or set direction. Clarity will be the competitive advantage.”
Investment landscape
David Wrench, partner and head of new investments South at private equity firm YFM, is expecting a more stable deal environment.
“Confidence is improving as the Southern market shows clearer signs of recovery,” he said.
“Deal flow improved through the second half of 2025 alongside business confidence and we are well positioned to support high quality management teams and growth-oriented businesses in 2026.”
Nelson Sivalingam (above), co-founder and CEO of learning experience platform HowNow, expects tech investors to be “more optimistic but also much more sceptical” next year.
“Alongside growth potential, investors will want to see more evidence of contract renewal rates. They will expect to see proof that customers are willing to pay for tangible outcomes, especially around skills, productivity, or workflow automation.
“Technology providers that solve an actual business problem will survive the tough economic climate and saturated market. These companies will create and deliver measurable value such as time-savings, risk reduction, and revenue generation. These platforms are those that help people to do their work, not just consume AI for AI’s sake.”
Tom Wrenn, managing partner of ECI Partners, expects private equity to start delivering on long-promised exits.
“PE firms are building up big portfolios that they need to start exiting. 2020-21 was the high watermark, where PE companies paid big prices, hence it’s difficult for them to exit those businesses when they haven’t yet generated their returns. Next year we should start to see some of those businesses coming to market.”