Domain-Specific Models: The Shift from General to Specialized AI in 2026
In early 2024, the mantra for developers was “bigger is better.” We reached for the largest, most general-purpose models for every task—from writing code to summarizing medical records. But as we move through 2026, the industry has undergone a massive correction. The trend today isn’t toward Larger Language Models, but toward Domain-Specific Models (DSMs). Developers are increasingly realizing that a 7B parameter model fine-tuned for a specific vertical often outperforms a 1T+ parameter general model in accuracy, latency, and—most importantly—cost. ...