Sectors to Watch in 2026: Gaining Momentum vs. Facing Headwinds

Not all sectors will benefit equally from the 2025 structural shifts. Here’s where capital is flowing—and where it’s retreating.

In 2026

Gaining Momentum

AI Agents & Automation

• Workflow integration accelerating
• Enterprise adoption surge
• Examples: n8n, LangChain, Decagon

Vertical AI

• Healthcare, Legal, Finance
• Domain expertise = moat
• Examples: OpenEvidence, Abridge

Defense Tech

• $1T+ budget tailwind
• Geopolitical urgency
• Examples: Anduril, Castellion

AI Infrastructure

• Compute demand surge
• Model serving at scale
• Examples: Fireworks AI, Modal

Facing Headwinds

Horizontal AI/SaaS

• Rapid commoditization
• Race to bottom pricing
• Margin compression

Climate Tech

• Long development cycles
• LP patience wearing thin
• Liquidity mismatch

Pure Crypto

• Post-2022 caution lingers
• Regulatory uncertainty
• Selective opportunities

Consumer Apps

• Enterprise focus dominating
• CAC/LTV challenges
• B2B preferred

The Pattern

• AI-native wins
• Vertical beats horizontal
• Fast cycles required
• Long-cycle = LP risk
• B2C headwinds

This is part of a comprehensive analysis. Read the full analysis on The Business Engineer.