Show Notes 173: 2026 Tech Predictions with Deloitte

Happy New Year!

Ben Stanton from Deloitte makes his record setting fourth appearance on the podcast to walk us through Deloitte's 2026 Tech (and Media and Telecoms) predictions.

The discussion isn’t just a forecast—it’s a sharp analysis of current market trends, user adoption, and technology realities.

Key Highlights & Insights:

Surging GenAI Adoption – But Reality Lags the Hype:

• “Standalone daily usage of GenAI is now about 6% of the population. In London, it’s 40% using it weekly—it’s urban centres and knowledge workers leading the charge.”

AI’s Gender Divide is Narrowing:

• “We’re far closer to parity: as of April, 53% of men and 42% of women have used GenAI tools.”

SaaS Meets AI Agents:

• “50% of organisations will be committing half of their digital transformation budgets to AI automation by 2026. Customers will buy in, but only if SaaS platforms develop agentic capabilities at speed.”

Agentic AI Poised to Explode:

• “There’s an avalanche of interest. Last year we said 25% would launch POCs—now, all it takes is a couple of clicks inside your ERP.”

Search Gets an AI Facelift:

• “AI-powered search engines now drive three times more discovery than standalone apps. This will reshape how we consume and find information, with huge implications for publishers, marketers, and regulators.”

Industrial Robots: Still Hype Over Reality

• “There are only 5 million industrial robots in the world—rising to 5.5m by 2026. Humanoid robots? Mostly a science-fiction obsession, not yet a real market.”

Tech Sovereignty Spending Accelerates:

• “$100 billion will be committed in 2026 to build AI compute infrastructure outside US/China. Yet 90% of global AI compute remains in their hands—a number falling only moderately by 2030.”

The Rise of Video Podcasts (Vodcasts):

• “The global podcast industry will hit $5 billion this year—driven by video. If you're just audio, you’ll have FOMO. Time for a pivot?”

Top Quotes:

• “We’re bullish on agentic AI—organisations are eager, but many still have no blueprint.”

• “FOMO is driving the boardroom question: ‘How can we do AI?’ Sometimes... AI isn’t even the right solve.”

• “Humanoid robots create great headlines, but practical utility belongs to purpose-built machines.”

Why You Should Listen & Subscribe:

This episode is a goldmine for anyone building, backing, or transforming tech ventures. Listen now to get the full breakdown from Ben and the hosts—subscribe where you get your podcasts.

To listen and subscribe, search for ‘Cambridge Tech Podcast’ on your favourite podcasting platform or visit cambridgetechpodcast.com.