UK tech had a tumultuous year in 2025, with headlines dominated by AI, cyber attacks and a challenging investment environment. AI in particular had a significant moment, with its evolution providing a productivity boost to resource-scarce startups while also creating new challenges surrounding compliance and safety.
When UKTN asked a series of industry experts about their trend predictions for the sector in 2026, it’s no surprise that AI was a leading point of conversation – but so too was the evolution of payments, a switch up in startup mindset and a new take on solution deployment.
Here’s what they have to say:
Sam Grice, founder and CEO at estate planning business Octopus Legacy
“In 2026, AI will unlock a level of speed that fundamentally changes how startups are built, allowing small teams to execute ideas in weeks that once took years. 2026 will be the year where we start to see a new breed of unicorns that have very small teams. This shift will force founders to lean into uncertainty and make decisions quickly....