Just finished the a16z annual (Big Ideas 2026), and I was blown away! It turns out that next year's core of AI isn't just more powerful models, but a complete shift from 'tools' to 'systems' — becoming environments, becoming entities, and working in parallel with humans! The underlying logic dug up by the four major teams from infrastructure, growth, healthcare, and the interactive world is the password for making money/career choices next year, so hurry up and lock it in! 💨
🛠️ Infrastructure team: The 'foundation' of AI in 2026 needs to be redone!
1. Multimodal data 'chaos' needs to be tamed! 📊 Currently, 80% of corporate knowledge is in 'data sludge' like PDFs, videos, and logs. No matter how powerful the model is, feeding it in will still produce illusions! The platform companies that can handle data cleaning, structuring, and real-time updates next year will hold the 'key to the kingdom' of corporate knowledge — contract analysis, claims, and customer service will all rely on it to save the day.
2. AI needs to solve the cybersecurity hiring crisis! 🔒 There is a global shortage of 3 million cybersecurity professionals, it's not that there are no people but that there are not enough 'people who don't want to do tedious work'! Who can stand flipping logs every day? Next year, AI will automate 90% of repetitive tasks, allowing cybersecurity engineers to focus on tracking hackers and patching vulnerabilities, cutting the talent gap in half, and cybersecurity startups will finally stop worrying about hiring!
3. Intelligent agent-native infrastructure will become 'standard'! 🤖 The current backend systems are too weak! An intelligent agent needs to handle 5,000 sub-tasks; for traditional databases, it's no different from a DDoS attack—the control plane must be reconstructed next year: cold starts need to be fast, latency must be stable, concurrency has to increase tenfold, and only platforms that can withstand the 'recursive storm' of intelligent agents will be the winners!
4. Creative tools will be completely multimodal! 🎬 Currently, AI-generated audio and video are just fragments, trying to shoot a 30-second video or reshoot from a different angle is simply impossible! Next year will be different! Just throw in a reference video + a few images, and the model will directly generate new characters, completing the same scene, from meme creators to Hollywood directors, everyone can control the scene precisely, Runway is just the appetizer!
📈Growth Team: The 'power game' of enterprise software has begun!
1. Recording systems are about to become obsolete! 💾 Previously, CRM and ITSM were the core of enterprises, now AI directly skips them to get the job done—reading data, writing processes, pushing execution, traditional systems have devolved into 'cheap storage'! Next year, whoever controls the intelligent agent workflow will be the new leader in enterprise software, interfaces will all be dynamic layers of intelligent agents, and old players who don't transform will be waiting to be eliminated!
2. Vertical AI is going to focus on 'multi-agent collaboration'! 🏥 The AI in healthcare and law has previously been a solo act: the AI analyzing contracts doesn't understand CFO preferences, maintenance AI doesn't know on-site commitments, and handovers are a mess! Next year, multiple intelligent agents will interact directly: automatically synchronizing data, routing experts, and negotiating boundaries, this layer of collaborative network is the 'moat' of AI applications, with switching costs that are ridiculously high!
3. The object of creation has shifted from humans to intelligent agents! 🤖 Previously, creating content required pleasing humans: Google rankings, top positions on Amazon, catchy openings—next year everything will change! Intelligent agents can dig up deep content on the fifth page, UI won't matter, machine readability will be king! Engineers won't need to watch Grafana, sales won't need to flip through CRM, the rules of content creation will be completely rewritten!
4. The 'screen time' KPI is doomed! ⏰ For the past 15 years, value has been measured by screen time: how long Netflix is watched, how many minutes ChatGPT is paused—next year will all be about 'paying for results': ChatGPT DeepResearch provides answers in seconds, Abridge automatically records medical histories, doctors/engineers won't even need to look at screens! Companies that can clearly explain ROI (doctor satisfaction, developer efficiency) will win!
🏥Bio+Health Team: Healthy populations are becoming 'the hot commodity'!
'Healthy MAUs' are about to rise! 🧑⚕️ Previously, healthcare only served patients (Sick MAUs/DAUs) and those who hardly see a doctor (Healthy YAUs), next year the focus will be on 'monthly active healthy people'! They are willing to be monitored regularly, AI will drastically reduce the cost of health check-ups, once preventive insurance comes out, this group will be the biggest clients of health tech—continuously active, data-driven, whoever captures them will reap huge profits!
🎮Speedrun Team: The interactive world is 'alive' now!
1. World models rewrite narratives! 🌍 DeepMind Genie can generate 3D worlds from text, next year will directly see 'generated Minecraft'—the boundaries between players and creators are blurred, building a dynamic universe together, with fantasy/horror/adventure worlds coexisting, the digital economy will explode: creating assets, bringing in players, developing tools can all be profitable, and it's still the training ground for AI intelligent agents, a dual explosion of new media + new economy!
2. 2026 is 'my year'! ✨ There will be no more 'average consumers'! Education will have AI mentors matching rhythms, health will have customized supplements/exercises, media will remix content in real-time, all tailored for 'you'! In the past, giants won by finding average users, next year they will win by finding 'individuals within average users', the world will optimize just for you!
3. The first AI-native university is coming! 🎓 It's not a traditional university with AI, but a 'self-adaptive organism' built from scratch: real-time optimized course schedules, reading lists updated with new research, and each student's learning path is unique! Professors become 'learning architects', evaluating how you use AI, specifically training talents who can collaborate with intelligent agents, the 'talent engine' of the new economy!
💡2026 AI Summary: It's not about technological iteration, it's about system reconstruction!
Next year, AI will not be smarter, but will be fully integrated into infrastructure, enterprises, healthcare, and the interactive world—becoming the environment, the subject, and the collaborative partner. Opportunities lie not in isolated innovations, but in reconstructing infrastructure, workflows, and interaction methods. Whether it's entrepreneurship, job selection, or investment, focusing on keywords like 'intelligent agents native', 'multimodal collaboration', and 'result-oriented' is definitely the right move!
Which trend do you think will land first for AI next year? Is it multimodal creation or enterprise software transformation? Let's chat about your predictions in the comments! 👇#A16ZCrypto