2026 AI Winners & Losers: Vertical AI Predictions ft. Todd Saunders & Omar | Episode 11

A group of veteran operators and investors come together on Verticals for a candid, end-of-year conversation on what actually happened in vertical AI in 2025, and what’s coming next in 2026. In this holiday special, Luke Sophinos and Nic Poulos are joined by Todd Saunders (Founder & CEO, Broadloom) and Omar (Partner, Euclid Ventures) to review last year’s predictions, debate the biggest winners and face-palms, and lay down bold calls for the year ahead across vertical AI, SaaS, and venture. This episode goes beyond surface-level hype.

It’s an operator- and investor-level discussion grounded in real outcomes, lived experience, and healthy disagreement, not trend-chasing.

We cover:

- Which vertical AI companies actually won in 2025 — and why

- The biggest face-palms and strategic missteps of the year

- Where vertical AI is genuinely creating durable value

- Why some fast-growing AI companies will struggle with churn

- The future of AI roll-ups: hype vs reality

- How system-of-record incumbents will respond to AI point solutions

- Which verticals are primed for $100M+ ARR scale

- Old-guard SaaS companies most at risk of disruption

- Where AI is overhyped, and where it’s still underestimated

- Bold predictions for 2026 across AI, SaaS, and venture If you’re a founder, operator, or investor building or backing vertical SaaS or vertical AI, this episode offers a sharp, honest perspective on where the market is headed, and where consensus thinking may be wrong.

New episodes drop every Wednesday.

Episode Minutes:

00:00 – Intro: Verticals holiday special & 2026 predictions

02:00 – Reviewing last year’s predictions

05:30 – Vertical AI winners of 2025

12:00 – Biggest face-palms and strategic mistakes

20:00 – AI roll-ups: opportunity or trap?

28:00 – Point solutions vs systems of record

35:00 – Where vertical AI actually scales

43:00 – Churn, retention, and fragile growth

50:00 – Old-guard SaaS at risk in 2026

57:00 – Dark-horse predictions for the year ahead

1:05:00 – Final calls: what really matters in 2026