As 2026 begins, amidst a relatively calm overall trend, the artificial intelligence industry continues its rise as the central axis of the global technology market. In particular, the rapid offensive of AI companies originating from China has significantly boosted market expectations. From the evolution of unmanned automation, physical AI, and generative models to large-scale infrastructure construction, a flood of AI-related news has emerged, while the IPO queue and large-scale mergers and acquisitions of companies are also thriving.
In China, major companies such as Luna AI, AI Spectrum, MiniMax, Biren Technology, and Kunlun Chip (Baidu's AI chip subsidiary) have successively announced their IPO plans, launching a formal battle for AI funding. Luna AI recently raised $500 million, laying a solid foundation for investment; AI Spectrum plans to raise $560 million through a Hong Kong listing. With the formal launch of investments in new technologies such as physical AI, the development of AI services with specific user touchpoints is also highly anticipated.
In the US, Meta Platforms acquired startup Manus to strengthen its "agent AI" technology, signaling its return to the enterprise AI market. OpenAI, which announced the release of a new AI model based on speech processing, and Nvidia, which is focusing on AI21 Labs, a promising startup in the field of large-scale language models, also demonstrated significant moves. Furthermore, SoftBank invested $22.5 billion in OpenAI, officially launching its AI infrastructure expansion.
On the other hand, Elon Musk's xAI announced that it has expanded the power capacity of its AI-dedicated data center "Colossus" to 2 gigawatts; it is rumored that Nvidia has asked TSMC to expand the mass production of its next-generation H200 chip in order to cope with surging demand in China. These infrastructure enhancements are becoming the foundation for the expansion of AI factories and a core means of gaining an advantage in the struggle for global technological hegemony.
Security issues were also a major focus of discussion. Ubisoft's gaming services experienced a system outage due to a large-scale hacking attack, while there were claims that the personal information of millions of users of Condé Nast's Wired magazine had been leaked. In response, the US and Australian governments warned of the "MongoBleed" vulnerability and began to strengthen their defenses, while the European Space Agency is also investigating a 200GB data breach caused by hackers.
At the policy level, the Chinese government has released guidelines for regulating the application of humanoid AI companions, while OpenAI in the United States has begun recruiting for a senior "preparatory leader" position to strengthen AI security. Concerns about AI ethics and control continue to rise, and governments and companies around the world are formally launching policy responses.
Thus, since the beginning of the new year, the AI industry has shown simultaneous and concurrent trends in technology, funding, policy, and security. Against the backdrop of a global technology landscape being formally restructured around AI, 2026 is likely to become a watershed year for the "AI expansion period."
