Thanks in large part to the increasing use of artificial intelligence, companies in AI’s home industry—tech, media and telecommunications—constituted 53% of the S&P 500's market capitalisation by late 2025, up from 19% in 2008. However, the biggest TMT industry story of the coming year might be the dawn of a quieter, more mature era for AI, focused less on splashy breakthroughs and more on making AI work at scale.
Deloitte predicts that in 2026 and beyond, the gap between AI’s promise and its practical value will likely shrink, powered by steady, behind-the-scenes advances in how organisations meet their AI inference computing needs, yield operational benefits from AI agent orchestration, help address labour shortages with AI-enabled industrial robotics and drones, and more. But growth and innovation come with challenges: Geopolitical tensions expose fragile semiconductor supply chains, prompting nations to pursue technology sovereignty. Generative AI video on social media risks fuelling misinformation, likely intensifying calls for regulation and content labelling. Telecom providers may also struggle to attract consumers with ever-faster Internet speeds, necessitating a shift to other incentives.
Learn more about the opportunities and challenges facing the TMT industry in the full report.