My top 10 tech predictions for 2026 as AI impacts all of our lives: David Richards
In 2025, Microsoft cut 6,000 roles. Dell shed 12,000. Google, Meta and HP followed; not because demand collapsed, but because AI could now do work that previously required people.
At the same time, the IPO market reopened. Q3 saw $15.8 billion raised, the strongest quarter since 2021. Physical robotics companies raised billions to move from pilots to production. Capability surged just as long-held assumptions about labour, scale and cost quietly broke down.
This is the collision between technological power and economic reality. In 2026, it becomes harder to ignore.
1. AI becomes infrastructure, not hype
The constraint is no longer ideas. It is electricity, compute and deployment speed, which turns out to be a far less glamorous problem to solve. As I wrote earlier this year, AI demands physical infrastructure, and Britain must decide whether to build it or import its future. Organisations that continue to treat AI as optional will find themselves competing against firms operating at speeds they simply cannot reach.
2. The AGI race reshapes geopolitics
Artificial general intelligence now sits at the centre of US–China competition, whether it is discussed openly or not. China’s approach favours speed, helped by cheap energy and lighter regulation. Jensen Huang’s remark that China is “nanoseconds behind America” was striking because it rang true. Several Chinese models from DeepSeek, Alibaba and Tencent already operate at a genuinely high level. The uncomfortable question for the West is how much delay it can afford.
3. Hesitation becomes expensive
Time to decision turns into something boards suddenly care about. Customer service that once took hours is now expected in seconds, and analysis that previously required teams happens in real time. Companies that cannot ship safely in days rather than quarters are outflanked. Early movers compound advantages quickly, while late entrants rarely recover the ground they lose.
4. Quantum-safe encryption becomes essential
Data that is secure today may not be secure tomorrow, a fact most organisations would rather postpone dealing with. More powerful computers will eventually break today’s encryption methods. In 2026, that future problem starts to feel uncomfortably present, and organisations begin upgrading how they protect sensitive data. New quantum-safe standards already exist. Encryption that cannot survive this shift becomes a quiet but serious liability.
5. LLMs begin to displace traditional search
For years, search meant links and rankings. LLMs increasingly mean answers. Tools like ChatGPT now summarise, compare and decide, removing the need to click through at all for many everyday queries. In 2026, this shift becomes visible at scale. Traffic patterns change, advertising models wobble, and power moves to whoever owns the conversational interface. Search is not dead, but its dominance is no longer assured.
6. Browsers become the distribution battlefield
Control the interface and you control defaults, intent and monetisation, which is why this fight matters so much. OpenAI’s Atlas browser is not a plugin but a new front door to the web. Google will push Gemini through Chrome. Apple will embed intelligence deep into Safari. Model quality still matters, but distribution decides who leads and who follows.
7. AI-driven layoffs arrive in waves
Labour markets adapt more slowly than technology, and the gap is already obvious. In 2026, expect delays, denial and backlash as capability races ahead of institutions. The winners invest early in reskilling and transition pathways. The losers face anger when productivity gains are not shared. The Luddites were not wrong about disruption. They were wrong about who benefited from it.
8. Physical AI scales into the real world
Robots move from demos to deployment. Warehouses, farms, hospitals and infrastructure networks adopt AI-powered systems at scale, not because it is exciting, but because they have little choice. Tesla’s planned launch of its Optimus humanoid robot is a signal of intent, not science fiction. Britain’s 58,000 unfilled manufacturing vacancies make this transition unavoidable. The choice is simple: build and deploy at home, or buy systems designed elsewhere.
9. US IPO momentum accelerates on AI
Bankers describe the 2026 US IPO pipeline as overwhelming, led largely by AI-native companies. Some will call it a bubble, echoing the dotcom era. The difference this time is that AI is already driving real productivity and margins. A US IPO surge will reset valuations and force London to respond. British pension funds cannot keep backing overseas growth while neglecting domestic companies without consequence.
10. Yorkshire becomes Britain’s defence-driven innovation test case
Rising defence spending accelerates innovation cycles, as it always has. In 2026, much of that activity lands in Yorkshire, where advanced manufacturing, materials science and engineering already cluster. Defence procurement moves faster than civilian policy, and its demands spill quickly into commercial technology. The outcome will offer a clear signal of whether Britain can turn defence investment into broader industrial growth.
The bottom line
The argument is no longer about belief in technology. It is about timing. These shifts are already underway, and 2026 is when they begin to show up in balance sheets, pay packets and power structures. Pretending otherwise will not slow them down.
David Richards is managing partner of Yorkshire AI Labs