The hottest mobility trends for 2026: What are investors looking for?

As 2026 approaches, mobility investing is being reshaped by regulation, geopolitics and an AI boom that’s already altering how capital is allocated.

That’s according to Denise Xifara, Head of Investments at EIT Urban Mobility, Europe’s most active backer of mobility startups.

“AI is impossible to ignore,” Xifara tells Impact Loop. “Even though it’s a horizontal technology, it’s hugely impactful for mobility. At the same time, I think we have to be very cognizant of the fact that AI rounds are distorting the entire VC ecosystem. It remains to be seen how that will shape what 2026 looks like, but it will inevitably have huge effects.”

Where investors are doubling down

Sustainability may have had a tougher political year, but it remains central to EIT Urban Mobility’s investment thesis heading into 2026. Cities are still pushing electrification and modal shift, while regulation across Europe continues to tighten.

Next year, capital will continue to flow across the value chain, but Xifara points to a few areas attracting particular attention for EIT Urban Mobility.

First: decarbonisation. That spans electrification, alternative fuels and the infrastructure needed to support them. One example is Swedish company Elonroad, which is developing electric road systems that allow vehicles to charge while driving.

Second: logistics efficiency – from last-mile delivery to fleet operations. Portfolio company Standab, which combines micromobility fleet management with parking infrastructure, fits squarely into that category.

Third, unsurprisingly, is AI and data-driven solutions – especially within hardware.

“Physical AI is the new frontier,” Xifara says. “Generative AI overlaps heavily with our space and I think Europe has a real opportunity to be at the cutting edge of how physical AI reshapes transport and mobility.”

That includes agent-based systems for fleet optimisation and the orchestration of increasingly complex mobility assets. “The sky is the limit in terms of what’s possible,” Xifara adds.

No, you don’t have to be an AI startup

For founders, however, Xifara stresses that not every mobility company needs to rebrand itself as AI-first to raise capital. In fact, in a sector where hardware, infrastructure and deep tech still matter – diversity is a strength. EIT Urban Mobility often backs companies with higher capex requirements and longer development cycles than typical software startups.

“Deep tech has been relatively strong in Europe when it comes to capital allocation,” Xifara says. “Part of our role is to be a market maker – including for companies with significant hardware components that aren’t obvious fits for traditional VC.”

What matters more heading into 2026, she argues, is execution. Investors want clear customer demand, defined target markets and credible go-to-market strategies. Financial discipline is firmly back on the agenda.

“Path to profitability matters,” Xifara says. “You need resilient business models and a clear funding strategy, even if you don’t look like a classic VC-backed startup.”

The ideal founding team, she adds, now blends ambition with pragmatism.

“Ambitious, of course – but also strategically resilient,” she says. “You need drive and commitment, but also a real understanding of how complex and regulated the mobility market has become.”

That means listening closely to customers and policymakers, adapting to shifting regulation – and still having the stubbornness required to build something genuinely new.

So which trend excites her most?

“Again, it has to be physical AI,” Xifara says. “It’s moving incredibly fast, it’s going to be hugely impactful, and there's a real first-mover advantage up for grabs. That’s where I expect a lot of the disruption to come from heading into 2026.”