6 vertical SaaS predictions for 2026

By Joshua Silver, Rainforest Founder and CEO

After nearly two decades in the vertical SaaS space, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most transformative years yet. Here are my top 6 vertical SaaS predictions for 2026. 

1. Vertical SaaS platforms will become the acquirers

The merger and acquisition (M&A) script is flipping. Instead of being the targets, vertical SaaS platforms will become the acquirers, expanding within their specific verticals by acquiring tools that help them scale daily operations, workflows and gain more control over the customer experience.  

For example, healthcare platforms are acquiring medical billing companies. Restaurant systems are acquiring inventory tools, and construction software providers are purchasing equipment management platforms. 

Private equity will play a critical role here, providing the necessary capital platforms need to execute this strategy. 

2. Embedded finance volume projections will exceed expectations in 2026 

The embedded finance market (payments, lending, etc.) is experiencing explosive growth, and will only continue to grow. After reaching $84 billion in 2023, the market is projected to grow at 32.8% annually through 2030 and vertical SaaS platforms are driving this acceleration.

I believe this growth will continue to outpace even these ambitious forecasts as many vertical SaaS platforms are already earning more from embedded fintech products than from subscription fees alone. Individual platforms processing over $1B in payments volume will become increasingly common in 2026. 

I’m seeing this firsthand at Rainforest: organic growth in our customer portfolio is exceeding market estimates. While these figures focus on embedded payments, I’ll explore the integration of additional embedded fintech products such as lending, insurance, and beyond in my next point below. 

3. 2026 will be the year of ‘embedded everything’

Hundreds of platforms that have embedded payments over the past few years are now processing hundreds of millions in annual volume, many are processing billions, and a handful in the tens of billions. What we have not seen to date is widespread adoption of the next wave of embedded products – payroll, procurement, insurance, marketing, and more. We’ll see this change soon. 

Most importantly, the winners in an ‘embedded everything’ world won’t be platforms who just bolt on these products. It will be platforms who understand their customers, what problems their platform is actually meant to solve and have a clear plan for data orchestration and sequencing of these products.

The foundation is payments data. Platforms with a robust payment infrastructure can layer on additional services efficiently, offering complete financial operating systems for their vertical.

4. Demand for human expertise will increase 

Many vertical SaaS platforms are replacing human expertise and assistance with AI. However, using AI alone without any deep knowledge of the customer and their specific vertical is a mistake. While AI is improving workflows and taking on more workloads, your customers still need quality assistance from a domain expert, one who can solve a complex problem that an AI chatbot cannot. 

They desire real, human support that truly understands their vertical’s regulations, workflows, and compliance requirements, and the unique needs, use cases, and idiosyncrasies of each business the platform serves. The winners of AI adoption will be those who provide this expertise, not those who completely replace it with automation. This achieves greater retention while competitors are out there cutting support costs.

5. Go-to-market engineering becomes a ‘must have’

Gone are the days of hiring a bunch of sales reps, giving them a list to call and hoping you generate enough pipeline to hit your revenue number. In 2026, it will be clear that platforms that have invested in go-to-market engineering will begin to lap competitors who are slow to do so.

What is GTM Engineering exactly? GTM Engineers leverage data, AI and tech to precisely identify your target customers, automatically identify upsell opportunities, predict churn and trigger automated outreach at scale. It’s a system that turns all your hard earned market signals into a real pipeline.

We’ll see 10-person sales teams that are more productive than those with 50+ reps. Sales teams will hone in on high-value partnerships while automation handles the long tail. The success factor here is data quality, and GTM teams with clear data and insights will achieve revenue growth that scales far beyond just the team size.

6. Systems of record vs. systems of engagement: The battle lines are drawn

Perhaps the most fascinating question in vertical SaaS will be how systems of record and systems of engagement are going to interact with one another? As we’ve seen vertical AI platforms going through massive growth in the past year, how are systems of record going to react?  

Will systems of record be able to release their own AI agentic products that crowd out the upstarts? Will systems of record start to “throttle” AI agents access to their data? Will some of the AI platforms try to become systems of record themselves?

It’s unclear how this relationship will play out, but I think the battle lines will be much clearer by the end of this year.

How vertical SaaS companies can win in 2026

What is clear is that platforms will need to think strategically about M&A, move aggressively on embedded products that go beyond payments, invest in human expertise alongside AI, build sophisticated data orchestration, and treat go-to-market as engineering instead of expanding team headcount.

The playbook is changing fast and the companies that adapt now will define the next era of vertical SaaS. 

P.S., if you’re looking for more on what’s to come in vertical SaaS this year, join us at Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference on April 14, 2026 in New York. 

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