2025 was a year of contradictions. Record levels of investment in artificial intelligence were met with growing concerns of an AI-fuelled bubble. Growth companies demonstrated stability and resilience in the face of ongoing economic and political uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic. Buoyant public markets were tempered by fears of resurgent inflation.

As we look to the year ahead, we’ve been reflecting on how to navigate these complexities and understand the technological, social, economic, and political changes will drive the growth and success of our portfolio and the broader ecosystem.

In this piece, our global investment team takes a look at the themes and issues that have caught their interest. From the practical and profitable deployment of AI, to the sustained return of the IPO market, and the evolution of consumer and commerce models, we hope it gives you food for thought as you chart the path forward for 2026.

Increasing liquidity give momentum to exit markets
Michael Gross, Managing Partner, Beringea U.S.

In 2026, increased liquidity—driven in part by lower interest rates—should meaningfully improve the growth outlook and exit markets for venture-stage businesses. As capital becomes cheaper and more abundant, companies with strong fundamentals will gain renewed flexibility to invest in expansion, talent, and strategic acquisitions. A healthier IPO market will further reinforce this momentum, giving founders and late-stage investors clearer exit paths and the confidence to pursue growth with a longer-term lens.

We saw this begin to play out in 2025 with Beringea U.S. portfolio companies Micro-LAM and ATLAS Space Operations, whose sizable acquisitions were both made by public or nearly-public companies (IDEX (NYSE: IEX) and York Space Systems (NYSE: YSS, pending IPO), respectively).

Cost-saving, tech-enabled solutions in high demand
Ben Bernstein, Principal, Beringea U.S.

As payment pressure tightens on healthcare systems in 2026, providers will be forced to do more with less—creating fertile ground for private-sector innovation. Potential future government shutdowns could lead to reduced or unpredictable CMS reimbursements. This accelerates demand for technologies that lower the cost to serve, automate clinical and administrative workflows, shift care to lower-cost settings, and measurably improve outcomes.

Venture-backed companies that help health systems preserve margins—through AI-enabled revenue cycle tools, care-at-home platforms, interoperability solutions, and value-based care infrastructure—will be especially well positioned as essential partners rather than “nice-to-have” vendors.

AI takes center stage in healthcare
Bill Blake, Partner, Beringea U.S.

In 2026, we expect to see AI in healthcare move decisively from targeted use cases to scaled deployment as providers and payers face sustained cost pressure and labor constraints. We expect the biggest winners to be companies applying AI to concrete operational problems—clinical documentation, revenue cycle management, care navigation, and utilization management—where ROI is immediate and measurable.

In our own portfolio, we’ve seen companies like conversation intelligence platform Authenticx use AI-driven insights to deliver measurable cost savings and improve patient outcomes. Expect more solutions like that in the coming year, as AI-native healthcare businesses with proven outcomes and robust governance, compliance, and security postures will attract outsized growth capital and become core infrastructure across the care continuum.

From Experiment to Execution: AI as an Operating Lever
Harry Thomas, Partner & Head of Portfolio, Beringea UK

Over the coming year, we expect AI adoption to become near-universal across the portfolio, shifting from experimentation to embedded, everyday use. This is being driven less by hype and more by economics: rising employment costs in the UK have sharpened entrepreneurs’ focus on driving productivity, increasing operating leverage and protecting margins.

We’ve spent a substantial amount of time considering these issues with the portfolio as part of our ‘AI in Action’ programme. From these discussions, it is clear that the most effective companies will pursue a hybrid model, using AI to augment teams rather than replace them - automating routine tasks and enabling people to operate at a higher level.

In the near term, AI will primarily support bottom-line performance. Longer term, these initiatives will put businesses in a much stronger commercial and financial position as the M&A and IPO markets become more active, which we expect over the coming 12 months.

Social commerce goes mainstream: the “third channel” for consumer brands
Emma Biasiolo, Investment Director, Beringea UK

In 2026, we expect social commerce to move from “nice to have” to a core growth channel for consumer brands. This shift will see brands begin to consider social commerce as a ‘third channel’ alongside offline retail and traditional e-commerce.

TikTok’s US momentum is already hard to ignore - 2025 saw over $500m in sales across Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And brands are taking note: razor brand Harry's is reportedly offering a salary of $150,000 for its first in-house ‘TikTok Shop Manager’.

We know from our own portfolio - which includes the likes of Papier, Lucky Saint, DASH, and Plank Hardware - that simply ‘being on TikTok Shop’ won’t be enough. Execution will be the key and winners will incorporate high-quality content, rapid creative testing, and shop-optimised merchandising.

We also expect social commerce to play a growing role in brand creation itself. In 2026, more founders will use platforms like TikTok Shop as a live environment to test new product development, pricing, and messaging before scaling through traditional channels.

Alongside this, there will be a substantial opportunity for the platforms and agencies emerging to help brands navigate this new ‘third channel’.

Live better for longer: data-driven wellness to define the next growth cycle
Patrick Gorton, Investment Associate, Beringea UK

Consumers are more focused on wellness than ever before. McKinsey’s Future of Wellness survey estimates the market now exceeds $500bn in annual spend in the US alone, with sustained growth across multiple sub-segments. From GLP-1s and science-backed skincare to fitness travel and longevity, wellness continues to fragment into large, innovation-led categories with strong tailwinds.

What is increasingly clear, however, is how consumers choose where to spend. Purchasing decisions are shifting away from intuition and branding towards measurable outcomes. The rapid growth of wearables reflects this change. Platforms such as Whoop and Oura are positioning themselves as health intelligence companies, not devices with data providing insight and driving behaviour change.

Looking ahead, the most compelling wellness businesses will be those that can clearly demonstrate impact. As we’ve seen with our own investment in AI-driven weight loss platform Second Nature, data, personalisation and proof are critical differentiators.