In this blog post, we share a high-level look at what we think 2026 could have in store for emerging technologies, startups, and venture capital (VC) developed by our technology experts and investors.

This post focuses on the middle layer (world models) and why they are becoming a foundational ingredient in how physical AI systems understand context, predict change, and reason about the real world. This shift is happening now because the kind of data machines can learn from has fundamentally changed from static datasets to continuous, multimodal recordings of the physical world.

Physical AI is not about making machines better at a single job. It is about creating intelligence that can operate in the physical world across many jobs.

This report examines U.S. investment trends in engineering biology (specifically foundational technologies, platform innovations, and end-use applications) over the five-year period from 2020 to 2024.

What if military infrastructure could be built faster, smarter, and better, using robotics instead of legacy construction methods?

From medicines to minerals, the conversation shows how biology can anchor U.S. industrial strength and why execution now will determine who leads the next era of innovation and security.