The Prediction Game
Why it's worthwhile to predict the future and what our founders are excited about this year.
It’s prediction season in business, politics, venture, and technology. But lost in the sea of newsletters and podcast appearances and fiery Twitter Takes is an obvious question: why engage in predictions anyway? After all, if the early innings of 2026 are any indication, predictions invariably make fools of us all. Put simply, we believe predictions are not just an intellectual activity but also an exercise in pulling forward the future. There are optimistic and pessimistic predictions, in vogue and contrarian takes, but ultimately they always fall along the same lines: “I believe this will happen and in believing so, I am willing that future into existence.”
Who are we most excited to hear from? The founders and builders who are creating the future. Below are outlooks from some of our favorite founders across AI, education and jobs, health equity, and human connection. If you are obsessed with these ideas or if any of this resonates with you, please reach out.
We’d love to hear from you.
Hear From Our Founders: What’s Ahead in 2026
On the Next Stages of AI
“If 2025 was about mass experimentation with clinical AI, 2026 will be about mass adoption and value capture. Who wins? Platforms that earn trust from health systems and are loved by clinicians: doing one without the other won’t work. As buyers look at their 2026 budgets, merely showing pilot outcomes data isn’t enough. Deep understanding of clinical workflows, stakeholders that need to be brought along, and (most importantly) identifying clinician magic moments are all key to making vendor decisions for next year.” - Abhishek Gupta, Co-Founder of Altitude (AI insights, coaching, and support for nurse practitioners)
“In 2026, AI will cross the chasm into rehabilitation and post-hospital care. Providers that embed AI directly into core operations will begin to measurably outperform those that don’t. The performance gap will be visible, in margins, speed, staff leverage, and patient outcomes. The rest of the industry will be forced into catch-up mode. At that point, AI will no longer be a ‘tech initiative’ but a core operating discipline, on par with marketing, sales, and recruiting. The organizations that do this well will win in this space.” - Bjorn Cooley, CEO and Co-Founder at Sanctum (home health’s AI and intelligence layer)
On Education, Jobs, and Financial Infrastructure
“In 2026, employer-led healthcare education will be the most practical path into healthcare careers, not a shortcut. AI will sit at the core of training, continuously adapting learning to real roles so graduates enter the workforce truly job-ready.” - Tressia Hobeika, Co-Founder and CPO of Stepful (America’s largest digital, asynchronous, AI-powered healthcare education platform)
“2026 is the year of gamblification. With the rise of prediction markets and the ability to bet or “trade” on almost every facet of American existence, we may see notable increases in corresponding levels of addiction and compulsive behaviors around gambling, gaming, financial trading, and internet/online experiences. The public health crisis we’re seeing today will likely grow, meaning more people will need help and support here.” - Elliott Rapaport, CEO and Founder of Birches Health (America’s leading treatment platform for gambling disorders)
“By 2026, prenups will flip from defensive to offensive: the #1 financial planning tool for breadwinning women and dual-income couples building wealth together. What once cost $10K and weeks of lawyer time will cost $500 and a few hours of time, unlocking the multi-billion dollar fintech category that’s been hiding in plain sight: marriage itself.” - Libby Leffer, CEO and Founder of First (prenuptial legal and financial planning platform)
“In 2026, schools will recognize that the most valuable resource they have is teacher time. Giving educators even one more hour a day to focus on students will feel like adding an entire new workforce without increasing headcount. It will reshape how districts invest and what classrooms make possible.” - Arman Jaffer, Founder and CEO of Brisk Teaching (AI to supercharge K12 education and educators)
On Health Equity
“By 2026, GLP-1s will move beyond weight loss and become a steady part of how people manage appetite, energy, and overall wellbeing. It will feel as normal as taking a daily vitamin. A new health category will form around helping people feel stable, supported, and in control of their bodies.” - Aja Beckett, CEO and Founder of Shotsy (GLP-1 management platform)
“In 2026, public health funding may shift, but the underlying need will not. As safety-net clinics are forced to do more with less, integrated pharmacy infrastructure will become their central lever to preserve access to care for millions of patients, contain costs, and sustain community health.” - Peter Park, Co-Founder at Alchemy (physical, digital, and financial infrastructure for a new type of pharmacy)
“In 2026, we will stop treating children’s learning and development as separate from their health. As schools face increasing pressure to support kids amid budget cuts, families will recognize that developmental health is one of the strongest drivers of educational success. Models that bridge education and healthcare will move from innovation to inevitability, delivering measurable outcomes for children and durable ROI across the system.” - Jen Wirt, CEO and Co-Founder of Coral Care (business-in-a-box enabling at-home pediatric care)
On Human Connection and Public Infrastructure
“By 2026, residents will expect to discover, book, and manage local recreation as seamlessly as anything else on their phone—and will increasingly recognize when that experience falls short. As people begin to see recreation as a connected ecosystem spanning public programs, leagues, and private offerings, cities and operators alike will be inspired to modernize how recreation is delivered, moving beyond fragmented, decades-old systems.” - Rachel Williams, Co-Founder and President at Rec (powering recreational facilities)
“By 2026, families and the broader households and communities around them will expect attention and digital safety to work seamlessly across every device they share. As digital life becomes networked rather than app-bound, Clearspace predicts a move toward unified infrastructure that protects time, safety, and agency at the level where life actually happen.” - Royce Branning & Oliver Hill at Clearspace (eliminating digital distractions)
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May the year ahead be better than the last.
 | A guest post by
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Love the reframe on predictions as acts of will rather than forecasting. That distinction between making predictions and listening to founders who are actually building cuts through alot of prediction noise. When I worked in early stage investing, the most accurate predictions came from people with skin in the game who had no choice but to be right. The rest was intellectual performance art.