🔒From quantum computing to robotaxi rollouts: Tech trends expected to shape 2026

AI has become a buzzword in many workplaces, but what technology trends are actually likely to shape 2026? We put the question to four Maine experts. Here's what they told us.

Torie DeLisle, head of business development and strategic partnerships at Aras Digital Products (based in Portland as well as Croatia) and founding director of Maine Tech Week: “I believe the next wave of digital trends will be around tech for social good and community relationship management. Conversational engagement platforms — which automate meaningful, one-to-one interactions inside private messaging channels — are quickly becoming essential for organizations driving action, especially in politics and social impact, where trust and immediacy matter more than reach. A great example of this is the Maine-based, mission-driven startup, Oak.ai, who participated in the trailblazing use of social media in [New York Mayor] Zohran Mamdani's campaign.”

Justin Hafner, co-founder and CEO of Ateklo: "AI is finally becoming what many of us hoped it would be back in 2022: a practical teammate embedded across day-to-day business operations. As the cost and complexity of adoption continue to drop, companies can start applying AI closer to the frontiers of real human expertise, not just surface-level tasks. At the same time, quantum computing is quietly becoming accessible through the cloud. As these two technologies begin to intersect, we’ll see theory translate into practical business advantage faster than ever. It may sound far-off, but this convergence is already underway."

Andrew Rinaldi, co-founder of cybersecurity startup Defendify, offered three predictions:

• “AI isn’t going anywhere in 2026, but it will feel less like an experiment and more like an expectation. A few places I see this showing up — in search, 'AI mode' will largely disappear as AI becomes the default way people find answers."
• “In AI-powered robotics, robotaxis will expand beyond tech hubs like San Francisco into major cities worldwide."
• “And in cybersecurity, IT and software development, the conversation will shift from replacing humans to empowering them.”

Adam Nyhan, partner at Portland-based law firm Verrill: “2026 will be the year of companies internally mainstreaming their approaches to privacy and artificial intelligence … This is partly because of the recent explosion of laws that require ‘privacy by design' and other steps that call for company-wide rollout. It’s also because a new crop of U.S. state laws dealing with AI (which companies tend to view positively, as a useful tool) is merging with older state laws that govern privacy (which companies often see negatively, as a cost center). The result will be companies bringing more internal experts into these conversations. This will be especially true in health care, education, manufacturing and other regulated sectors.”