Compute in 2026: what teams should optimize for (Dec 2025)

Dec 2025

If 2025 was the year of multi‑modal capability, 2026 looks like the year of optimization. The teams that win will be the ones that ship consistently under load—without quality whiplash.

Compute strategy is practical: routing requests to the right model, caching, and using smaller models where they’re “good enough”. It’s also organizational: who owns cost, latency, and reliability?

What to optimize for (in order)

- Throughput per dollar (not peak benchmark scores).

- Latency for iterative workflows (creative loops).

- Resilience: fallbacks when a provider is throttled.

- Repeatability: versioned prompts and pinned settings.

A simple routing heuristic

Use a fast, cheap model for exploration. Promote only winning candidates to more expensive engines. Upscale and retouch only after approval.

Why this matters for creatives

Iteration speed determines output quality. A team that can run three clean review loops in an hour will outperform a team waiting on one “perfect” generation all afternoon.

This is the mature phase: models are powerful, and the differentiation shifts to systems, routing, and disciplined review.