The pace of technology emergence shows no signs of slowing down.
If the past few years were an experiment in AI, 2026 will be about living with the results.
From agent systems and instant payments to deepfake fraud and AI-powered cyberattacks, technology is now more ingrained in business operations than ever before.
Business leaders in FinTech, cybersecurity, software, and investments shared their predictions for the year ahead.
Will the AI bubble burst?
Jitterbit President and CEO Bill Connor argued that 2026 will reward organizations that build piping rather than pitch decks.
Jitterbit is the developer 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 those who are building on hype rather than solid foundations,” he said.
“The companies that will come out on top in 2026 will be those that invest in strong connections between data, systems, and employees. AI cannot do anything meaningful if it is locked in disconnected silos.
“The companies that are really winning today, and will continue to win in 2026, are those that use integration and automation to transform responsible AI from a bright idea to a real business outcome. The gap between hype and real long-term impact ultimately comes down to execution.”
“When data moves smoothly and systems can actually communicate with each other, AI becomes more than just a buzzword and begins to create real change.
“If an AI bubble emerges and companies building on the hype burst, it will not mark the end of progress, but rather a shift towards organizations that prioritize substance, integration, and sustainable innovation.”
TR Vishwanath (above), co-founder and CTO of Glean, which develops AI assistants and agents, also shares his views.
“In 2026, the biggest change will not be the ‘winter’ of AI, but computation. Companies will realize that the next wave of value is not locked behind AGI (artificial general intelligence), but rather lies in mastering the tools they already have. The winners will be those focused on turning the capabilities of today's models into real products and ROI.”
“Dreamers waiting for a quantum leap in intelligence will be left waiting.”
Stablecoins migrate “downstream” into traditional finance
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that claim to avoid the sometimes extreme price fluctuations of other cryptocurrencies and maintain stable value by being pegged 1:1 to a fiat asset such as the US dollar.
Laurent Descaut, co-founder and CEO of cross-border payments FinTech Neo, believes that stablecoins are no longer limited to crypto circles.
“Stablecoins are no longer just a niche crypto innovation; they have moved into mainstream financial tools,” he said.
“Over the next year, adoption will move beyond crypto-native users and into broader financial flows, with stablecoins becoming more deeply embedded in traditional finance.”
This is a view shared by Sean Forward (above), Digital Currency Business Manager at ClearBank, a technology-enabled clearing bank.
“Institutional adoption of digital assets is expected to accelerate in 2026 as traditional finance begins to integrate digital assets into core operations.
“It is expected that sovereign entities will begin to hold Bitcoin reserves, but more broadly, it would not be surprising if Bitcoin gradually begins to lose its prominence, giving way to a more stable, regulated, and sustainable growth model.
“The supply of stablecoins could double to $500 billion by the end of the year and reach $2 trillion by 2030. Regulatory clarity, especially in the US with the GENIUS law and Hong Kong with 100% reserve-backed requirements, is expected to increase confidence among financial institutions.”
embedded finance
Andrew Crocombe, Head of Embedded Banking Offerings at Clearbank, believes embedded finance presents a huge opportunity for UK businesses next year.
“Next year, we expect next-generation API-based banking to become the standard for embedded account and payment services, enabling businesses to create seamless experiences that deepen engagement, increase customer loyalty, and drive new revenue streams.
“By building on the proven infrastructure of regulated banks, businesses can offer competitive and compliant services and features, such as FSCS protection for eligible deposits, without incurring the significant costs of obtaining a banking license. This also means that brands do not have to sacrifice quality of service or maintain a brand-consistent customer experience.”
“As embedded finance evolves, brands that adopt these solutions will differentiate themselves and deliver frictionless, secure and personalized financial experiences that meet the demands of tomorrow's customers.”
CFOs are “held accountable” for AI assurance
Aaron Harris, chief technology officer at accounting giant Sage, predicted that financial leaders will become insider owners of AI trusts.
“As this technology plays a larger role in day-to-day decision-making, there is a growing expectation that CFOs will be held accountable for their actions,” he said.
He argued that CFOs “will not be able to rely on blind trust, because 'about right' in finance is a fallacy,” and will require “visibility into why a model reaches its recommendations” and “how reliably those decisions can be tracked and audited.”
AI agents become a “significant new attack surface”
Jamie Moles, senior technical manager at ExtraHop, warned that agent AI is creating new security problems faster than organizations can manage.
ExtaHop aims to give organizations visibility into cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and network performance issues that circumvent existing security and IT tools.
“AI agents are becoming increasingly integrated into business workflows, and most organizations do not yet understand how to manage them, so they are already a new attack surface,” he said.
“Breaches occur when you blindly trust an opaque system.”
AI teammates
Laura Ellis (below), vice president of AI and data at unified cybersecurity platform Rapid7, believes AI will move from assistant to teammate within security operations.
“In 2026, AI within SOCs (security operations centers) will mature from a helpful tool to an active collaborator, acting as a trusted teammate.
“The most effective AI SOCs do not sacrifice explainability.
“Models who cannot demonstrate their logic may lose permission to operate.”
AI-driven attacks will become “more adaptive”
Keepit is a cloud data protection platform for SaaS apps.
“AI-driven attacks will become highly adaptable. By 2026, attackers will be using AI systems to map entire infrastructures in seconds, identify weak links deep in supply chains, and change tactics in real time to evade defenses,” said Kim Larsen, the company's chief information security officer.
“Organizations that win will be those that use AI to augment, rather than replace, human judgment.”
“Parasite epidemic” warning
Dmitry Volkov, CEO of Group-IB, another cybersecurity company, predicts that AI will drive the rise of malicious software.
“With the integration of AI, a worrying category of self-propagating malware is rapidly emerging,” he said.
“In 2026, things are definitely going to change for the worse.
“Threat actors designing self-propagating AI-driven malware could create the first true AI-driven worm epidemic.”
Deepfakes will become the “default social engineering tool”
X-PHY is Behind autonomous hardware-based cybersecurity technology.
CEO and co-founder Camellia Chan (above) predicts increased scrutiny and policy pressure on AI security.
“In 2026, we will see a need for tighter regulation and transparency around AI systems, especially in critical infrastructure, financial services, and healthcare.”
“Deepfakes will become the default social engineering tool by the end of 2026.”
She also warned that “we are certainly entering an era in which, unfortunately, trust becomes vulnerable.”
Teaming humans and agents
Stephen Webb, UK chief technology officer at multinational IT and consulting giant Capgemini, said companies will put human-agent collaboration under the microscope.
“Over the next year, enterprises will focus on solving the fundamentals, from defining what tasks to delegate to agents to tackling practical issues such as how to bill agent workloads and measure performance,” he added.
“Sandbox initiatives like the UK government’s AI Growth Lab will be important.”
Platform wars move to a new level
Rajiv Ramaswamy, CEO of Nutanix, a cloud platform for running apps, data, and AI, predicts a long competitive cycle.
“We are entering a 10-year platform war in which success will depend on the strength and flexibility of the platform as a whole, not individual features,” he said.
“The fastest path to innovation comes from platforms that embrace openness, whether it's container choice, LLM choice, or GPU choice.”
Leadership clarity is an advantage
Jeremy Walters, CEO of business services firm Paragon Group, argued that winning organizations will be those that lead with stability and clarity.
“In 2026, leadership skills will not be defined by technical proficiency or operational efficiency, but by the ability to articulate complexity,” he explained.
“Technology cannot absorb uncertainty or set direction. Clarity is a competitive advantage.”
investment environment
David Wrench, partner and head of new investments South at private equity firm YFM, is looking forward to a more stable trading environment.
“Confidence is improving, with southern markets showing clear signs of recovery,” he said.
“Deal flows will improve through the second half of 2025, along with business confidence, and we are well-positioned to support a high-quality management team and growth-oriented business in 2026.”
Nelson Sivalingam (above), co-founder and CEO of learning experience platform HowNow, predicts that technology investors will be “both more optimistic and more skeptical” next year.
“Investors will want to see more evidence on renewal rates, along with growth potential. They will expect evidence that customers are willing to pay for tangible outcomes, particularly when it comes to skills, productivity and workflow automation.”
“Technology providers that solve real business problems will survive even in tough economic times and saturated markets. These companies will create and deliver measurable value such as time savings, risk mitigation, and revenue generation. These platforms will help people do their jobs, not just consume AI for AI’s sake.”
Tom Wren, Management The company, a partner at ECI Partners, is hopeful that private equity will begin to deliver long-promised exits.
“PE firms are building the large portfolios they need to start exiting. 2020-21 was a high water mark for PE firms to pay a high price, so it is difficult to exit businesses that are not yet profitable. Next year should start seeing some of those businesses enter the market.”
