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A year of exponential progress awaits
Read time: 8 min
Artificial Intelligence
What to expect
The demand for AI compute will continue to rise and trigger growth with a dash of skepticism across the economy
Models continue to get version updates as progress accelerates across Grok, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and more
Humanoid robots make immense progress thanks to new AI breakthroughs
Companies start wrestling with enhancing their employees vs replacing them
Privacy lawsuits increase with the adoption of AI tooling like notetakers
AI labs start to go public like Anthropic while OpenAI remains private
Agents become more capable of longer and more independent tasks with the ability to work together without human intervention
China’s domestic chip manufacturing starts producing viable products to take market share away from NVIDIA (slowly)
Deepfake AI content becomes a greater issue for identity theft and fake news
This one’s a stretch but maybe we get our Jarvis moment, a real AI assistant
Spatial Computing
What to expect
New hardware for VR/MR like the Steam Frame comes to market to challenge Meta’s dominance
AR and AI glasses make progress towards mass consumer adoption with the help of multimodal AI
Google and Samsung continue to push on AndroidXR and we see more devices come to market using it
World models and GenAI lower the barrier to entry for creating virtual environments that users can immerse themselves in
Gaussian splats become more commonplace as a way to capture and view 3D worlds like Meta’s Hyperscape
Input methods will shift from controllers to neural wristbands, eyes and rings
Apple will release either a Vision Air or their AI glasses to demonstrate commitment to the space
Productivity applications become more viable thanks to software and hardware advances
Robotics
What to expect
Autonomous systems and robotics as a service becomes mainstream
Optimus Gen 3 robot enters production from Tesla
Major players like Figure, Boston Dynamics, 1X Neo, Agility and Tesla look to deploy fleets of robots into the world to gather more data to train their AI
Chinese companies like Unitree and XPENG look to challenge traditional US technology dominance with mass production of their humanoids
Advanced surgical robots improve outcomes of procedures and extend the careers of aging doctors with AI assistance
It will become commonplace to see a flying robot aka drone drop a package from the sky or a little Star Wars-esque droid sharing the sidewalks making a delivery
Amazon continues to be the leader in warehouse robotics and drives even more efficiencies at the cost of human labor
Transportation
What to expect
Tesla Cybercab production begins in Q2, Semi enters mass production and unsupervised full self driving launches
Robotaxi services from Waymo, Tesla and Uber expand while other entrants join the market
Falling costs and optimized software will bring premium features to all tiers of automotive offerings for consumers
Roads that charge cars become operational as experiments in the US
Cybersecurity advancements are given investment to protect autonomous vehicles from attack
The Boring Company continues to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of transportation tunnels under major city centers like Las Vegas
AI optimizes logistics for global goods transportation
Digital twins provide deeper and more critical insights to transportation networks
Flying taxis open their doors to early access programs in major cities like New York and Miami from the likes of Archer Aviation
Space
What to expect
Next-gen satellite internet transforms pricing, capacity, and regulation worldwide
SpaceX will launch Starship V3, debut the Raptor V3 engine and Starlink V3 satellites will bring gigabit connectivity around the globe
Space junk will be an opportunity that more companies begin to explore capitalizing on before it becomes a problem
More companies and countries successful launch and land rocket boosters like SpaceX and Blue Origin
Next-gen privately funded space stations begin development to replace an aging international space station
Manufacturing in orbit becomes a reality with examples like Starlab from Airbus
Extra-terrestrial communications and networking allows for better collaboration between satellites, interplanetary rovers, robots and future off-earth settlements.
Biotech
What to expect
Brain-computer interfaces inch closer to consumer ready with additional trials and product announcements
Biomanufacturing and Synthetic Biology start making headlines and slowly deliver real results
Healthcare stops asking “Can AI do this?” and starts asking “Who is accountable when it does?”
Spikes in R&D for prevention medicine, personalized/precision care and care optimization and bio hacking will continue to develop at a rapid rate
A shift from discovery velocity to decision quality where AI does not replace scientists but empowers them
Longevity science accelerates with trials and reduced turnaround time from concept to experimentation
Workflow intelligence becomes the new moat for platforms that understand timing, context, and clinical intent and they’ll outperform those that simply digitize existing processes
Quantum Computing
What to expect
Enterprises begin to pilot quantum technologies and integrate them into their workflows for drug simulation, logistics, portfolio optimization and more
Advanced error detection enables more complex algorithms that were previously unattainable
Hardware becomes diversified from superconducting qubits, trapped ions, neutral atoms to photonic systems
Quantum and AI technologies begin to overlap which accelerates progress across both industries
Quantum sensors and networking gets more focus in order to build multi-node quantum networks
Cybersecurity beefs up its methods in order to develop quantum-safe encryption
Gaming
What to expect
Streamers will continue to take the role of traditional media like iShowSpeed, Kai Cenat and Mr. Beast
Steam will make a push to bring gaming to the masses with their new family of devices but everything comes down to price
Prices of PC hardware like RAM make it more difficult to acquire the components to build a powerful PC
Cloud gaming becomes a default for many to get around the limitations of the hardware available in their home
GTA 6 (if it’s not delayed) could potentially open a new horizon of in-game mechanics and economies of scale in a digital realm
Cross-platform play has become the norm with Xbox, PlayStation and PC gamers unified in one experience
Increased scrutiny on monetization practices across platforms but especially mobile
AI World Generation helps reduce the time to create user generated content across platforms like Roblox, Fortnite and Horizon Worlds
Our vision
2026 is shaping up to be a year of accelerated innovation. Just think, the better technology we develop leads to an increased ability to use that technology to develop new things. That feedback loop will continue to tighten and result in what seems like unbelievable progress across all industries.
AI is going to have another huge year and it will touch basically every industry. The technology will become even more ubiquitous as it takes more of the mindshare of regular consumers where most people only know of ChatGPT. Agents will come online that will transform product lines, companies and augment or completely take over certain jobs.
Spatial computing hardware will take on new form factors and use cases but the test is still in the hands of consumers when it comes to adoption. Will we see a killer app? What would the killer app even be for spatial computing? Maybe 2026 will reveal the answer.
Industries like Space, Quantum Computing and Transportation will make us feel like we are living in a sci-fi movie while robotics will solidify our belief that Star Trek and Star Wars are going to become real within our lifetime.
For all you gamers out there we eagerly await GTA 6 to see if there will be any more delays or if there will be a great shift in how we perceive online experiences and commerce with the latest edition in their successful franchise.
I hope you’re all excited and rooting for advancements in biotechnology. We’re hopeful that longevity science will stop hoarding all the benefits to mice and humans will get some products that will meaningfully expand the “good years” of life into our 70s and 80s. In our lifetime it’s looking like our 80s will become our 50s if the exponential progress holds. Just check out Bryan Johnson to see the early data of putting in the work.
We had a great year with all of you in 2025 and we are confident that Vision Quest will be at the forefront of all the impressive and intruiging technology breakthroughs that are sure to push us further into the future.
Live long and prosper!
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