Saturday · August 8 2026 — The Desk — figures as of 2026-08-08
Economics · The Industry

The Industry

A maximized AI industry view. Our own industry records — and the fragility engine behind them — set beside Stanford HAI’s AI Index 2026. Every panel declares its mode (join · overlay · standalone), its owner and its evidence class. Where the data has a gap, the gap is stated in words.

Overview

The industry at a glance

JOINOURS × HAIMIXEDAS OF 2026-08-08

Of the 24 verticals that carry a composite fragility score (from 68 tracked public companies across 31 verticals), 6 read ELEVATED, 7 sit at WATCH and 11 read CALM. On payoff, 19 verticals show demonstrated returns, 9 emerging, 3 spend-only. Supply- and demand-side mean fragility sit close, at 53.9 and 50.5. Pick a lens below to go deeper, or read the full table beneath the page.

6
verticals ELEVATED (≥60)
7
at WATCH (48–59.9)
11
CALM (<48)
19
with demonstrated payoff
Measured: company filings via the fragility engine · Compiled: TheCatch.AI industry records

Seven lenses on the AI industry — this overview reads our own record; each lens opens its own evidence.

Verticals

The fragility board — every vertical, one scale

JOINOURS × HAIMIXEDAS OF 2026-08-08

Mean composite fragility of each vertical's tracked public companies. The join: our industry records × the engine's watchlist, reconciled on every build.

ELEVATED · ≥ 60WATCH · 48–59.9CALM · < 48role tags: D demand — pays for the build-out · S supply — builds it
DManufacturing68.6
DHealthcare & Hospitals66.2
DAutomotive & Mobility65.3
DGaming64
SData Centers & REITs61.3
SMemory & Storage60.9
SSemiconductors54.2
SNetworking & Optical54
DOil & Gas52.8
DTelecom52.5
DPharma & Biotech51.9
DAdvertising & Marketing49.8
DGovernment & Public Sector49
SCooling & Electrical47.7
DMedia & Entertainment47
DCybersecurity46.6
DLogistics & Supply Chain46.5
DRetail & E-commerce46.3
DEnterprise Software45.9
DAudio-Visual45.4
SPower & Energy45.2
DConsumer Electronics41.8
DDefense & Aerospace34.9
DAccounting & Professional Services34.6
Measured: company filings via the fragility engine · Compiled: TheCatch.AI industry records · Joined: Stanford HAI AI Index 2026, sealed corpus

The exposure record, and its stated absences

JOINOURSMIXEDAS OF 2026-08-08

What the join covers, and — in words, never a blank — what it cannot.

42 / 68
tracked companies placed
27 / 31
verticals carry tracked companies
24
verticals carry a mean fragility
76
company–vertical placements
Not tracked: Education, Legal Services, Life-Science Tools, Real Estate & Construction — zero tracked public companies in our universe. Stated, not blank.
No quantifiable data available: Agriculture, Financial Services, Insurance — tracked companies present, none carries a composite score yet.
No data reported: HAI’s NAICS-15 carries no health-care sector — our Healthcare vertical maps to no counterpart. An absence in the source, not in us.
Measured: company filings · Compiled: TheCatch.AI industry records

The crosswalk, and the collapse warning

JOINOURSESTIMATEAS OF 2026-08-08

Where HAI’s industry categories span several of our verticals, the aggregate is named as an aggregate.

HAI category (NAICS-15)maps toour verticals
Manufacturing10Automotive & Mobility, Consumer Electronics, Cooling & Electrical, Defense & Aerospace, Life-Science Tools, Manufacturing, Memory & Storage, Networking & Optical, Pharma & Biotech, Semiconductors
Information6Audio-Visual, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Software, Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Telecom
Professional, scientific, and technical services3Accounting & Professional Services, Advertising & Marketing, Legal Services
Real estate and rental and leasing2Data Centers & REITs, Real Estate & Construction
Finance and insurance2Financial Services, Insurance
no_counterpart2Healthcare & Hospitals, Travel & Hospitality
🔴 An HAI figure under any label above is an aggregate over every vertical named — it cannot be attributed to one of them. Per-vertical HAI stats are honest only where the mapping is one-to-one.
Compiled: TheCatch.AI crosswalk vs Stanford HAI taxonomies

The Economy

Corporate AI investment, by event type

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.4ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Global corporate AI investment per year, split by funding event type.

581.7290.80201320192025
Merger/AcquisitionMinority StakePrivate InvestmentPublic Offering
Measured: Quid · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_4.2.1 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

AI job postings — share of all postings

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.4ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

AI postings as a share of all job postings, by country.

000201020182025
AI agentAI ethics, governance, and regulationsArtificial intelligenceAutonomous drivingGenerative AIMachine learningNatural language processingNeural networksRoboticsVisual image recognition
Measured: Lightcast · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_4.4.3 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

AI diffusion, by economy

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.4ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

The fifteen economies with the deepest measured AI diffusion, H2 2025.

United Arab Emirates64Singapore60.9Norway46.4Ireland44.6France44Spain41.8New Zealand40.5Netherlands38.9United Kingdom38.9Qatar38.3Australia36.9Israel36.1Belgium36Canada35Switzerland34.8

Top 15 shown of 147 in the record.

Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_4.3.1 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Investment beside hiring demand

OVERLAYSTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.4ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Total corporate AI investment (all event types, summed) and the "Artificial intelligence" skill cluster's share of job postings, on one timeline.

581.714.600201020182025
Funding in USD (billions) — summed (left axis)AI job postings (% of all job postings) — Artificial intelligence (right axis)

Shown on a common timeline. No causal relationship is asserted or tested.

Measured: Quid · Lightcast · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_4.2.1 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Research

Notable AI models, per year

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.1ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Notable machine-learning models released each year, by origin.

8743.50200320142025
AcademiaIndustryIndustry-academia collaborationOther
Measured: Epoch AI · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_1.1.4 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Data centres, by country

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.1ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Recorded data-centre count — 97 countries carry at least one.

United States5,427Germany529United Kingdom523China449Canada337France322Australia314Netherlands298Russia251Japan222Brazil197Mexico173Italy168India153Spain144

Top 15 shown of 97 in the record.

Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_1.3.1 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Chip power vs everything else

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.1ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Cumulative power demand: AI chips against all other load, sixteen quarters.

17.78.90.12022Q12024Q12025Q4
cumulative_chip_powercumulative_other_power
Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_1.2.4 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

GPU cost index

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.1ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

The cost of GPU compute, indexed to 2006 = 1. Log-scale collapse.

10.50200620152024
Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_1.4.12 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Performance

Benchmarks against the human baseline

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.2ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Model performance relative to the human baseline, benchmark by benchmark.

1.10.60.1201220192025
AIMEGPQA DiamondImageNet Top-5MATHMMLUMMMUOSWorldSQuAD 2.0SWE-bench VerifiedSuperGLUEVQA
Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_2.1.1 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Arena scores, by year

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.2ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Elo-like arena scores of released models, by release year.

1,5041,236.59692023-05-012024-10-012026-03-01
Measured: LMArena · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_2.1.4 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Paid robotaxi trips

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.2ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Weekly paid autonomous trips, in thousands — capability leaving the lab.

297.1148.70.21/31/247/31/2512/31/25
Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_2.7.5 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Policy

US AI regulations, by agency

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.8ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

AI-related regulations issued by US federal agencies, per year.

9748.50201620212025
Agency for International DevelopmentCensus BureauCenters for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesChildren and Families AdministrationCoast GuardCommerce DepartmentCommodity Futures Trading CommissionComptroller of the CurrencyConsumer Financial Protection BureauCopyright Office, Library of CongressDefense Acquisition Regulations SystemDefense DepartmentEducation DepartmentEmployee Benefits Security AdministrationEmployment and Training AdministrationEnergy DepartmentEnvironmental Protection AgencyExecutive Office for Immigration ReviewExecutive Office of the PresidentFederal Aviation AdministrationFederal Communications CommissionFederal Deposit Insurance CorporationFederal Election CommissionFederal Energy Regulatory CommissionFederal Housing Finance AgencyFederal Railroad AdministrationFederal Reserve SystemFederal Trade CommissionFinancial Crimes Enforcement NetworkFood and Drug AdministrationHealth and Human Services DepartmentHomeland Security DepartmentHousing and Urban Development DepartmentIndustry and Security BureauInterior DepartmentInvestment Security OfficeJustice DepartmentLabor DepartmentLand Management BureauLibrary of CongressNational Credit Union AdministrationNational Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Science FoundationNuclear Regulatory CommissionOccupational Safety and Health AdministrationOffice of the Inspector GeneralOffice of the SecretaryPatent and Trademark OfficePersonnel Management OfficePublic Health ServiceSecurities and Exchange CommissionSmall Business AdministrationTransportation DepartmentTreasury DepartmentVeterans Affairs Department
Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_8.4.11 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Data localization measures

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.8ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Cumulative data-localization measures — the walls going up around data.

7738.50200020122024
East Asia and PacificEurope and Central AsiaLatin America and CaribbeanMiddle East and North AfricaNorth AmericaSouth AsiaSub-Saharan Africa
Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_8.3.3 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

China: models released beside supercomputers built

OVERLAYSTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.8ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

China's cumulative AI models released and cumulative AI supercomputers, on one timeline.

8490851201020182025
Cumulative number of AI models released — China (left axis)Cumulative number of AI supercomputers — China (right axis)

Shown on a common timeline. No causal relationship is asserted or tested.

Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_8.3.4 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Policy attention, country × domain

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.8ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

The one file in 343 that crosses industry with geography. Policy attention by country and domain.

countryAgriculture and environmentBusiness and enterprise servicesConsumer and lifestyleEducationFinancial servicesGeneral-purpose AI capabilitiesHealthcare and life sciencesIndustry, energy and infrastructureLegal servicesPublic sector and governanceSecurity and defense
United States1,485,910,31468,610,392,69011,878,063,5803,901,202,22922,268,041,81625,174,511,04134,338,296,9639,527,223,8448,899,220,4131,613,771,6883,569,617,495
United Kingdom170,570,77819,795,856,2091,451,156,236715,684,0794,337,356,4173,576,933,2474,094,866,1371,149,147,997645,075,49665,536,229179,901,176
China101,392,9578,344,523,7012,006,756,2102,516,098,9833,926,321,6285,663,349,6368,443,362,9864,064,941,707478,819,150164,083,38782,513,576
Israel97,524,01420,407,540,898436,612,420259,616,345705,139,9301,489,832,0971,360,660,045863,128,050109,277,0832,857,100203,190,294
India148,775,65811,327,995,692762,426,377669,175,9721,523,967,8251,374,430,3061,017,950,039895,286,05627,013,10126,041,785404,409,824
South Korea01,727,533,616817,381,952154,649,908282,156,335888,859,32810,931,964,409282,862,141117,400,00040,536,54498,943,753
Spain4,450,0008,222,204,6034,208,015,81648,654,13189,657,570216,170,434634,600,69428,542,8066,829,08126,196,2490
Canada148,114,5895,847,140,502579,042,91732,868,9571,767,438,6181,001,578,8721,135,195,565680,757,0661,106,046,49323,530,000235,862,778
Germany43,191,6833,002,748,479637,470,932176,369,9891,334,220,977827,397,9451,448,834,2601,957,611,827145,129,62770,252,45436,537,572
Japan80,573,9823,260,210,889438,957,800695,949,293582,560,2551,009,335,7291,641,925,354544,271,230197,656,26837,860,00014,500,000
France22,150,0002,531,941,035327,341,06741,938,9281,195,868,784809,296,3451,865,663,700495,539,90999,500,00094,201,20961,564,900
Australia36,840,0003,364,431,70956,578,77567,360,811797,221,320278,811,312526,073,26478,984,68766,584,74825,848,87516,075,594

Top 12 shown of 75 in the record.

fig_8.3.5 is the single INDUSTRY × GEOGRAPHY file in the corpus. One file is not a cross-filter; the prohibition holds everywhere else.

Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_8.3.5 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Opinion

"Products using AI will profoundly change my life"

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.9ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Agreement by country over time — the widest-spread question in the survey.

0.90.50.120222024Point change 2022 vs. 2025
GermanyAustraliaFranceNetherlandsChinaCanadaSouth AfricaUnited States
Measured: Ipsos · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_9.1.2 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Sentiment, by country and category

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.9ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

Where excitement and nervousness actually sit, country by country.

CountryCategory% of respondents
IndiaSupport for AI literacy0.9
IndiaAI strategy and culture0.9
IndiaResponsible AI governance0.8
EgyptAI strategy and culture0.8
NigeriaAI strategy and culture0.8
ChinaSupport for AI literacy0.8
NigeriaSupport for AI literacy0.8
EgyptSupport for AI literacy0.8
United Arab EmiratesSupport for AI literacy0.8
TurkeyAI strategy and culture0.8
Saudi ArabiaSupport for AI literacy0.8
EgyptResponsible AI governance0.8

Top 12 shown of 141 in the record.

Measured: Ipsos · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_9.1.11 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

Frontiers

FDA-cleared AI medical devices

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.5 · 6 · 7ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

AI-enabled medical devices cleared per year — medicine's adoption receipt.

2461230201120182025
CardiovascularGastroenterology-UrologyNeurologyOphthalmicOrthopedicPathologyRadiology
Measured: FDA · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_6.2.5 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

AI in the natural sciences

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.5 · 6 · 7ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

AI publications as a share of all natural-science publishing.

0.100201020182025
Earth scienceLife sciencesNatural sciencesPhysical sciences
Measured: Stanford University · Institute for Human-Centered AI · AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_5.1.2 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

AP computer science exams

STANDALONESTANFORD HAI · AI INDEX 2026 · CH.5 · 6 · 7ESTIMATEAS OF 2026-07-19

The pipeline, measured at the school gate.

91,21645,6080200720162024
AsianBlack/African AmericanHispanic/LatinoNative American/AlaskanNative Hawaiian/Pacific IslanderOtherTwo or more racesWhite
Measured: College Board · Compiled: Stanford HAI · AI Index 2026 · fig_7.3.14 · Chart: TheCatch.AI · CC BY-ND 4.0

The verticals — the record beneath the dashboard

OURSAS OF 2026-08-08
19
demonstrated payoff
9
emerging
3
spend-only
VerticalRolePayoffAdoption paceTrackedMean fragility
Accounting & Professional ServicesD demanddemonstrated63134.6
Advertising & MarketingD demanddemonstrated72449.8
AgricultureD demanddemonstrated601No quantifiable data available
Audio-VisualD demanddemonstrated75445.4
Automotive & MobilityD demanddemonstrated72365.3
Consumer ElectronicsD demandemerging66441.8
Cooling & ElectricalS supplyspend64147.7
CybersecurityD demanddemonstrated67446.6
Data Centers & REITsS supplyspend84361.3
Defense & AerospaceD demandspend70234.9
EducationD demanddemonstrated76Not trackedNot tracked
Enterprise SoftwareD demanddemonstrated76445.9
Financial ServicesD demanddemonstrated653No quantifiable data available
GamingD demandemerging56264
Government & Public SectorD demanddemonstrated64349
Healthcare & HospitalsD demanddemonstrated70366.2
InsuranceD demandemerging631No quantifiable data available
Legal ServicesD demanddemonstrated73Not trackedNot tracked
Life-Science ToolsD demanddemonstrated70Not trackedNot tracked
Logistics & Supply ChainD demanddemonstrated63246.5
ManufacturingD demandemerging74268.6
Media & EntertainmentD demandemerging69447
Memory & StorageS supplydemonstrated74260.9
Networking & OpticalS supplydemonstrated83454
Oil & GasD demandemerging70252.8
Pharma & BiotechD demandemerging60251.9
Power & EnergyS supplyemerging68145.2
Real Estate & ConstructionD demandemerging61Not trackedNot tracked
Retail & E-commerceD demanddemonstrated70446.3
SemiconductorsS supplydemonstrated81754.2
TelecomD demanddemonstrated68352.5
Every vertical drills to its full page — players, value chain, signals, sources. Absences are stated in words, never blank.

HAI panels chart Stanford HAI’s published CSV data — AI Index Report 2026 — Public Data, CC BY-ND 4.0, downloaded 2026-07-19, archive sha256 bf82a699a18bf77b… — none of their figures is reproduced or adapted. Our records carry their own sources on each vertical page.

THE INSTRUMENT, IN MOTION · 1:03
Watch: The Whole Board