In 2026, organisations will invest in data, AI readiness, ‘Human-AI chemistry’: Capgemini

Capgemini, a French tech major, on Wednesday (December 10, 2025) said the year 2026 will be a year of meaningful advancement after years of fragmented piloting in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Organisations are expected to invest in data, AI readiness and more importantly in “Human-AI chemistry,” moving away from the hype to harness the transformative potential of AI. According to the firm, tech sovereignty has moved from a policy concept to a strategic priority amid geopolitical uncertainty.

Nations and enterprises now seek control over critical technologies in a world that remains deeply interconnected. The result is a new paradox: sovereignty is no longer defined by isolation, but by resilient interdependence.

Since full tech autonomy does not exist, organisations will focus on risk mitigation and selective control over key layers. Securing business continuity will become the primary imperative through diversified suppliers and sovereign alternatives. Sovereign and multi-clouds, regional AI models, open platforms and new chip ecosystems are also emerging to offer choice and strategic flexibility.

Unveiling top five tech trends to watch in 2026 at a virtual media conference, Pascal Brier, Chief Innovation Officer at Capgemini and Member of the Group Executive Committee, said, “The upcoming year will see AI become the backbone of enterprise architecture, reshape software lifecycle development, and redefine cloud consumption.’’

However, he said, at the same time, enterprise systems were undergoing a fundamental shift toward intelligent operations, while tech sovereignty emerges as a strategic priority, driving organisations to build resilient interdependence.

Taking stock of where some of their AI experimentations failed to deliver the expected outcomes, Capgemini predicted that business leaders now understand that the issue didn’t come from the technology itself but from the business approach and methodology, the firm observed as part of its tech trends for 2026.

According to Capgemini, while the true growth phase begins, an AI ecosystem more rooted in operational value and enterprise architecture is emerging, starting with data foundations and infrastructure, and focusing on “Human-AI chemistry”.

2026 will be the moment to move from proof-of-concept to proof-of-impact, ensuring AI drives measurable outcomes, trust, and collaboration at scale, whilst laying the foundations for larger-scale transformation to follow, it added.

Full-scale deployments will take time, and long-term value will not lie in isolated AI use cases but in enterprise-wide implementations. “While the true growth phase begins, an AI ecosystem more rooted in operational value and enterprise architecture is emerging, starting with data foundations and infrastructure, and focusing on “Human-AI chemistry’’, the firm said.