Investors at a16z have identified key issues that tech builders will tackle in 2026, focusing on various sectors such as infrastructure and growth. One major theme is the challenge of unstructured data. Jennifer Li highlights how companies struggle with messy data from various sources like emails, PDFs, and logs. As AI systems become more sophisticated, they still face hurdles due to this data chaos, which hampers efficiency. Startups that can create platforms to clean, structure, and manage this data will be essential for enabling AI applications in areas like contract analysis and compliance. In cybersecurity, Joel de la Garza points out the critical hiring gap that has plagued the industry, with unfilled positions growing from under 1 million to 3 million between 2013 and 2021. AI is expected to alleviate this issue by automating repetitive tasks, allowing security teams to focus on strategic work. Malika Aubakirova discusses the need for "agent-native" infrastructure, which will accommodate the increasing complexity of automated tasks that today's systems can't handle efficiently. The shift to handling high volumes of agent-driven workloads will require a complete rethinking of infrastructure design. On the creative side, Justine Moore anticipates a shift toward multimodal AI tools that allow users to create and edit content more seamlessly. This will enable tasks like continuing a video scene or manipulating characters in real-time. Jason Cui notes the evolution of the AI-native data stack, emphasizing the integration of AI with traditional data management systems. Yoko Li envisions a future where video becomes an interactive space, allowing for real-time engagement and evolution. Sarah Wang argues that systems of record will lose their dominance as AI-driven automation transforms enterprise software into proactive workflow engines.