VCs predict strong enterprise AI adoption next year — again

Despite significant investment since ChatGPT's launch, enterprises are struggling to see meaningful ROI from AI, with a recent survey showing 95% receiving little benefit. TechCrunch surveyed 24 enterprise VCs, who consistently predict that 2026 will be the year businesses meaningfully adopt AI, see value, and increase budgets—a prediction they have made for the past three years. VCs anticipate a shift toward custom models, fine-tuning, and specialized AI consulting over generic product businesses. Investment areas of focus include AI reshaping the physical world (infrastructure, manufacturing), advancements in data sovereignty, voice AI, and the application layer of frontier labs. Regarding startup moats, VCs emphasize deep workflow integration, proprietary data access, and demonstrable economic impact over mere model performance. For 2026 funding, Series A startups must show both a compelling 'why now' narrative and concrete proof of mission-critical enterprise adoption, typically evidenced by $1M-$2M ARR. Finally, while agents are expected to remain in initial adoption phases due to technical hurdles, some VCs foresee the convergence of siloed agents into a single, unified entity by late next year.

(Source：TechCrunch)