The article argues that early 2026 will extend the economic momentum seen at the end of 2025, as lower interest rates and an IPO-friendly environment support venture capital activity, particularly in digital assets and Generative Artificial Intelligence. While some forecasts flag potential slowdowns later in the year, the author remains optimistic that the artificial intelligence revolution will be a durable venture theme, with startups continuing to grow by delivering specialized enterprise solutions and differentiated consumer propositions. The author frames 2026 as a “year of transformation,” in which software engineers shift how they work with artificial intelligence agents, content creation moves beyond traditional marketing, artificial intelligence native startups challenge incumbent business models, and fintech rebounds after a difficult period.
In software engineering, the piece predicts that artificial intelligence agents will increasingly handle routine development tasks, as human engineers gradually overcome skepticism and learn to trust their new counterparts. As agents independently create production-level code, they will also be relied on for reviewing code, unit testing, and documentation, which could help large enterprises reduce burnout, keep headcount flat, and still scale workloads. Startups are expected to benefit by extending their funding runways and focusing more on product design and development, with the article noting that articles abound on how some artificial intelligence companies have scaled to $100MM in ARR with fewer than 100 employees. The author also anticipates that artificial intelligence search engine optimization, referred to as GEO, will turn content creation into a deeper collaboration between technology teams, marketers, and creators, as companies seek to optimize simultaneously for large language models and human users.
The article expects artificial intelligence SEO startups to move beyond surface analytics toward tools that drive concrete actions and keep brands relevant in a complex, multi-modal landscape shaped by frontier models and new advertising analytics platforms. In parallel, it forecasts a rise in mergers between venture-backed startups, particularly those with high zero interest rate policy era valuations, as they either pursue blockbuster products or combine to gain scale, potentially earning higher valuation multiples. Artificial intelligence native companies, built around automated operations, will target legacy, process-heavy sectors such as legal, accounting, and compliance as acquisition opportunities, using artificial intelligence agents to deliver more efficient services and appealing to enterprises seeking lower-cost alternatives in vendor bakeoffs. The author further predicts that agentic commerce will take a larger share of global ecommerce as agents move deeper into discovery, curation, payments, and post-purchase, pressuring payment providers to remain “top of wallet,” while startups pioneer new shopping experiences that incorporate regulatory and trust requirements.
Finally, the piece argues that fintech is poised for a strong recovery, driven by digital assets, embedded fintech, and Generative Artificial Intelligence, which together could fuel the next “super cycle” for the sector. The author notes that venture capital investment into fintech startups globally reached nearly $22 billion in the first half of 2025 – an 11.1% increase compared to the same time period in 2024, and presents this trend alongside successful recent fintech IPOs and rising public fintech valuations as evidence for a bullish 2026. With more accommodative monetary policy and healthy secondary markets increasing available investment capital, the article concludes that fintech is positioned for a buoyant year and invites founders building in these areas to engage with Citi’s venture team.
