The Big Ideas Shaping 2026: How Industry, Finance, and Enterprise Software Are Being Rebuilt
- Jayant Upadhyaya
- Jan 27
- 6 min read
As we move toward 2026, major changes are taking shape across industry, finance, and enterprise technology. These changes are not just small upgrades. They represent deep shifts in how systems are built, how companies operate, and how technology connects to the real world.
Three major ideas stand out:
The rise of the electro-industrial stack, which will shape the future of manufacturing and infrastructure
A turning point in financial services and insurance, where old systems are finally being replaced
The emergence of a dynamic agent layer, which could replace traditional systems of record in enterprise software
These ideas come from investors and technologists who are actively shaping the
future. They are not distant predictions. They are already starting to happen.
Part 1: The Rise of the Electro-Industrial Stack
What Is the Electro-Industrial Stack?
The electro-industrial stack is a new foundation for how modern industry is built and powered. It combines electric systems, software, and advanced manufacturing into one connected layer.
This stack powers:
Electric vehicles
Drones
Data centers
Modern factories
Defense and aerospace systems
The next industrial revolution will not only happen inside factories. It will happen inside the machines that power those factories.
Can the United States Compete?
There is a common belief that China is far ahead in industrial technology and that the United States cannot catch up. In reality, this belief has changed many times.
A few years ago, people said the opposite. They said the U.S. was ahead and China was behind. The truth is more balanced.
The United States has strong engineering talent and deep technical knowledge.
The real challenge is not whether the technology can be built. It is whether the ecosystem can support building it at scale and at low cost.
The Real Bottleneck Is the Ecosystem
China has something that the U.S. struggles with: a complete industrial ecosystem.
This includes:
Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 suppliers
Raw materials
Manufacturing partners
Institutions and policies that support speed
In many U.S. industries, companies are forced to vertically integrate. This means they build everything themselves, not because they want to, but because there is no ecosystem that can scale with them.
In China, that ecosystem already exists.
Why Vertical Integration Happens in the U.S.
Companies like SpaceX move very fast. They often build components in-house. This is not always a strategic choice. It is often a necessity.
The suppliers they need either do not exist or cannot scale fast enough. So the company must do everything itself.
This works for a few companies, but it is not a sustainable model for an entire economy.
Blending Software and Industrial Talent
To rebuild industrial strength in the U.S., companies must blend two types of talent:
Software engineers from modern tech companies
Industrial experts with decades of experience
Many successful companies already do this. For example, aerospace companies often hire engineers who worked on older space programs. This knowledge matters.
At the same time, modern industry needs the speed and flexibility of software culture.
Why Co-Location Matters
When engineering and manufacturing teams work close together, progress is faster.
Designing something that can actually be manufactured is much easier when:
Engineers see production constraints
Manufacturing teams give feedback early
This approach is often called design for manufacturing, and it becomes much more effective when teams are physically or organizationally close.
Prestige and Purpose Attract Talent
Top software talent has many choices. To attract them into industrial work, companies must offer more than money.
A strong mission
A sense of national or global importance
Prestige around building real-world systems
Working on batteries, power systems, motors, and industrial compute may not sound glamorous, but these components will shape the future.
Why Supply Chains Matter Long Term
Owning and controlling supply chains is becoming increasingly important.
As software and AI become more powerful, they will drive automation across industry and defense. Countries and companies that control supply chains will have long-term advantages in both economic and military power.
The decisions made today will shape the next 50 to 100 years.
Part 2: A Turning Point in Financial Services and Insurance
Legacy Systems Are Reaching Their Limit
Banks and insurance companies rely on systems that are decades old. Many still run on mainframes built long before modern data and AI needs.
For years, replacing these systems was seen as too risky. Now, the risk of not replacing them is becoming greater than the risk of change.
Why This Moment Is Different
Three major forces are driving change:
Scale pressureLegacy systems are already close to breaking under current demand.
Lost revenueCompanies cannot fully process documents, applications, or customer requests fast enough. This leaves money on the table.
New AI-first platformsNew software is being built from the ground up with AI in mind, by teams that deeply understand the industry.
Unified Systems of Record
The next generation of systems does not just add AI on top. It unifies data from:
Legacy cores
External systems
Unstructured data like documents and emails
This creates a new system of record that AI can actually use.
Parallel Workflows Change Everything
Today, many financial workflows are slow because tasks happen one after another.
In the future:
Hundreds of tasks can run in parallel
AI agents can handle routine steps
Humans focus on review and judgment
For example, mortgage underwriting can be done much faster and with fewer errors.
Categories Are Expanding
Traditional categories like fraud, risk, and compliance are merging.
Customer data from:
Onboarding
Identity checks
Transactions
Customer support
Can live in one unified platform. This creates better visibility and smarter decision-making.
Software Becomes Bigger Than Labor
The biggest winners will not just build better software. They will replace large amounts of manual labor that companies could never hire fast enough.
This makes software companies much larger and more valuable than before.
Competitive Pressure Is Real
The real competition is not AI itself. It is competitors using AI better.
Banks and insurers that modernize faster can:
Improve margins dramatically
Become easier to work with
Gain strong reputations
Some companies have already turned low-margin businesses into high-margin ones by upgrading their systems.
Infrastructure Enables Better Customer Experience
Many poor customer experiences exist because data is fragmented.
That is why:
Banks market products customers already have
Support agents cannot see full customer history
A unified data layer plus AI agents can fix this.
A Huge Opportunity for Founders
For founders who understand banking or insurance deeply, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Customers are ready. Technology is ready. The market is open.
Part 3: The Decline of Traditional Systems of Record
What Is a System of Record?
A system of record stores official data. Examples include:
ERP systems
HR systems
IT service management tools
These systems have been powerful because data is sticky. Once data lives there, it is hard to move.
Why That Advantage Is Fading
In the past, many startups tried to replace systems of record with better user interfaces. Most failed.
What is different now is that AI agents can:
Understand intent
Execute tasks directly
Bridge the gap between request and action
This collapses the distance between what a user wants and what actually happens.
Example: IT Service Management
Traditionally, requesting access to software can take days or weeks.
With AI agents:
Intent is extracted from a message
The request is classified
The correct workflow is triggered
Access is granted quickly and accurately
This changes the entire experience.
The Rise of the Dynamic Agent Layer
A new layer is forming that sits close to the user.
This layer:
Learns user preferences
Collects behavior data
Executes tasks across systems
Over time, this layer becomes more valuable than the underlying system of record.
Why New Companies Can Win
AI products are improving weekly, sometimes daily.
Winning requires:
Speed
Trust
Accuracy
Large legacy companies move slowly. New companies can move fast and build better solutions.
Trust Is Everything
If an AI agent makes mistakes, users will not trust it.
Bridging intent and execution only works when reliability is high. That is why the best teams focus on correctness, not just automation.
A Major Shift by 2026
By 2026, the dynamic agent layer is expected to overtake traditional systems of record in many areas.
This does not mean systems of record disappear. It means they lose their central role.
Final Thoughts: A Connected Future
These three ideas point to one truth: intelligence is moving closer to action.
In industry, software and electricity merge
In finance, data and AI finally come together
In enterprise software, intent replaces forms and workflows
The companies and countries that succeed will be those that:
Build strong ecosystems
Modernize infrastructure
Move fast but responsibly
2026 will not just be about better tools. It will be about better foundations.
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