Starship leads as hardware demand overtakes software

Starship dominated the week with a 1.6× average adoption rate, spending 4 days at the top spot. The trend started at 1.08× and ended at 2.4×, showing strong momentum. This surge reflects growing interest in space technology, marking a clear departure from software-centric narratives that previously held the board.

Passkeys maintained consistent traction with a 1.34× average, leading on 2 days. Daily adoption peaked at 1.37× on 2026-09-30. This security-identity trend shows steady growth, indicating that digital identity solutions are gaining ground alongside hardware-focused innovations in the tech adoption cycle.

Small modular reactors (SMR) also featured prominently, averaging 1.3× and topping the board on 2026-09-29. The trend started at 1.23× and closed at 1.3×. This energy-transition focus highlights how hardware demand is accelerating, particularly in sectors requiring robust power solutions for new technological applications.

Meanwhile, AI agents and AI API SDKs showed moderate growth, averaging 1.18× and 1.17× respectively. While these software trends remain relevant, their slower pace compared to Starship and SMRs suggests a broader move toward tangible, hardware-driven solutions in the current adoption cycle for builders and developers.

Watch next: Monitor if Starship’s 2.4× closing rate sustains next week or if SMR adoption accelerates further in response to hardware demand.

Column drafted by qwen/qwen3.8-27b from the table below; every figure checked against it.