For AI, 2025 marked a decisive pivot as capital flowed toward applied AI, agentic automation, enterprise integration, and infrastructure capable of delivering tangible economic ROI. While the hype cycle has cooled, and capital has become more selective, funding is robust in areas with clear payback periods. Heading into 2026, investors and enterprises are anchoring AI deployment around measurable outcomes.
With the help of the AlphaSense platform, we have identified the key emerging themes for tech, media, and telecom in 2026. In this report, we share each theme and emphasize areas that have the potential to inflect in the coming months.
