Physical AI Expansion and the New US China Tech Decoupling
The intersection of industrial hardware and machine learning is creating a new class of systems known as physical AI. While consumer software dominated the previous decade, the current cycle is shifting toward the automation of heavy industry and logistics. This transition is happening against a backdrop of intensifying geopolitical friction as the US Department of Defense restores major Chinese tech entities to its military blacklist. These two trends: the deepening of industrial automation and the hardening of regional tech silos: are defining the 2026 operational landscape.