The TMV Team's 2026 Predictions

Soraya Darabi

In 2023, “AI” shifted from science fiction to science project. In 2025, we saw the science projects evolve into viable, if not messy, business plans, high on potential and promise.

In 2026, the widespread adoption of “everyday” AI ( ~13% of the world give or take, with America accounting for one third of all AI users by 2027) will lead to mass productivity and mass laziness simultaneously. Self-actualization and determination will never be as important as it is this year. Wheat from the chaff.

At TMV HQ, we’re watching out for robotics applications that solve real problems—not sci-fi mars-shots, rather automation that improves working conditions or expands access in underserved areas. We are also fascinated with AI-powered business support systems offering smaller operators the kind of strategic guidance previously reserved for Fortune 500s, especially when they're genuinely useful rather than glorified chatbots.

And as AI displaces routine cognitive work, we're interested in platforms helping people redirect their time toward creative or meaningful pursuits (time to write the great American novel!), tools that facilitate transitions rather than optimizing obsolescence.

Truly, the companies acknowledging displacement and actively helping people find new value will build deeper moats than those pretending disruption comes without human cost.

Marina Hadjipateras:

In 2026, markets stop paying for infrastructure exposure and start paying for infrastructure control.

Emma Silverman:

In 2026, we expect to lean even more decisively into the infrastructure layer powering clinical AI– the picks-and-shovels that make high acuity AI safe, auditable and deployable at scale inside real healthcare environments.

Joshua Gold:

Shipbuilding has shifted from a niche industrial topic to a core U.S. policy priority. The widening naval gap with China and the chronic inability of American yards to deliver both naval and commercial tonnage at scale—and on schedule—has triggered rare bipartisan alignment. That urgency has already drawn in major European and Indo-Pacific shipbuilders, whose investments and strategic partnerships with U.S. yards are beginning to transfer real capability, not just commentary. With federal dollars flowing, acquisition pathways loosening, and dual-use demand rising, "in-the-know" founders are poised to target automation, robotics, and AI inside the shipyard. From autonomous production lines and robotic welding to AI-driven design, scheduling, and materials planning, 2026 is shaping up to be the pivotal year when tech finally becomes the lever for a modern, globally competitive American shipbuilding industry.

Azzi Agnelli:

In 2026, we expect mental health innovation to center on preventative infrastructure with clear payer or employer economics, early intervention, women's brain health, and youth resilience alongside clinically governed psychedelic and altered-state platforms that scale through protocols, software, and training rather than new molecules.

Darshan Somashekar:

2026 will be remembered as the first year that high value roles (legal, technical, managerial) begin to feel the pressure of AI. This will happen first by a reducing demand for tasks within a role, then by reducing demand for the roles themselves. Blue collar roles will remain unaffected.

Evan Wray:

2026 will mark the memory era in enterprise software, much like SOA in the early 2000s enabled the service architectures that made cloud computing possible.

Tim Shey:

2026 will be the year of the creator co-founder. Go-to-market expertise is now mission critical at the earliest stages for both consumer and enterprise startups alike. As a result of this, investors and founders will increasingly value teams with an inherent and unique understanding of how to build customer relationships and retain them - particularly in niche-y, hard to unearth areas, where creators thrive.

Joshua Gilbert:

We are optimistic we will see a wealth of opportunities for liquidity in 2026 through new IPOs, M&A activity and venture secondary channels increasingly accessible thanks to technology and retail awareness.