#3 Deeptech in Perspective - The Future is Now: A look into what is coming next in Deeptech
World Directions - Where are we heading to? (December release)
Deeptech on the Horizon: A look at the next year trends of transformative technology
By Eden Djanashvili, Deeptech Expert
As we are coming to the end of the year, we wanted to provide our members with a special newsletter. Following our series of Deeptech in Perspective, we have compiled a list of Deeptech moonshots that will revolutionise industries and redefine tomorrow’s generation of businesses over the next 10 years. By 2032, our ways of doing, working and behaving will be completely different from now. This is a list of some of the technologies that will change our world and can be good opportunities for investment in their early stages.
🖥️ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IS EVERYWHERE
By 2032 everything will be intelligent. The convergence of 5G networks, embedded sensors, IoT / IoE networks, edge-cloud computing and machine learning systems will impact a multitude of industries from retail, security, health, industrial, transportation, education, entertainment, finance, design and home living. Everything will be smart and embedded.
AI will achieve human-level intelligence as AI algorithms and machine learning tools will be made open source and available on the cloud allowing every individual with an Internet connection the ability to amplify their creativity, problem-solving skills and earning capacity (e.g. GPT-3, DALL-E,..).
Therefore, the rise of “AI as a Service” platforms will enable humans to embedd AI in every aspect and level of their work and industry: supporting creative tasks, generating new ideas, etc. In 2032, making certain diagnoses without the consultation of an AI may be unthinkable. Artists and designers will use DALLE-2 and software engineers will use AI to produce code and new prototypes.
Services like Alexa or Google Home will be part of our daily lives 24/7 serving as our interfaces with the world around us. These AIs will learn your preferences, anticipate your needs and behavior, shop for you, monitor your health and help solve your problems. Like a personal executive assistant 24/7.
🦾ROBOTICS ARE HERE TO STAY
Humanoid robotics and avatars will be part of our daily lives. They will look and operate like us allowing them to interact with the world around us. A new economy will rise: robotics will allow to do anything humans don’t want to and fulfill services that are dull, dangerous or even dirty.
Fully autonomous vehicles from Tesla, WAyme etc will enable “Car as a Service” fleet operating on demance like current UBER services. Cost of transportation will decrease as a results and elderly parents won’t need to drive anymore. New parking infrastructures will be generated and current parking garages will be transformed into usable spaces (green spaces?). Autonomous cars will also be used for entertainment, sleeping or meeting rooms as drive time becomes work or play time.
An “Instant economy of things” will rise and on-demand services will grow exponentially. Buyers will want things now, not tomorrow expecting an instant fulfillment of retail orders with drones or last-mile delivery robots services. Coupled with on-demand manufacturing “3D printing farms” everything will be customised and obtained within hours anywhere, anytime.
🌐EVERYTHING WILL BE CONNECTED WORLDWIDE
The deployment of 5G and launch of global satellite networks (e.g. Starlink, Kuiper,etc.) will allow for global communications everywhere at a low-cost. At the same time, 6G is under development and will be 100x faster. Terrestrial and space-based global connectivity will add more conversations and create new consumers and creators to inject tons of millions of euros into the global economy.
A part of connecting humans everywhere, the growing number of terrestrial and satellite communication networks are also enabling the expansion of the IoE or Internet of Everything. The planet is being covered by sensors everywhere: from our body to measure our physiology 24x7, to our home to listen, watch and provide security and support; to industrial sensors to monitor every aspect of the suppply chain and manufacturing process to optimise production and safety protocols; to sensors in autonomous cars to cover the roads and surroundings through cameras, LIDAR and radar; to drones in the sky visualising our cities and neighborhoods; to AR or Augmented Reality headsets to capture permantenly our activities and surroundings. This is what we call the “trillion sensor economy” in which everything is monitored, imaged and listened.
High bandwidth BCI or Brain Computer Interfaces will become reality. We will begin networking with human neo-cortex in the cloud over high-bandwidth connections. Early applications will focus on treating neurological disorders such as Alzheimer, Parkinson or spinal cord injuries to ultimately restore sensory and motor dysfunction. Companies like Neuralink, Kernel or Paradromics look to enhance human sensory, memory and intelligence by expanding how we interact with each other and the world.
🚀RISE OF WEB3 & THE METAVERSE
While Web2 allowed us to transfer data in the form of cuments, photos and videos, Web 3 will emerge as the internet of value built on blockchain, NFTs, DAOs and, the metaverse will aloows us to transmit ownership. The metaverse could attain a $13 trillion worth by 2030 with 5 billion users. The latter is a social and ownership layer on the internet providing with self-sovereign identity, connection people places and things. It provides guaranteed authenticity across time and space via blockchain. Both technologies combine VR / AR / XR or Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality / Mixed Reality, 5G networks, blockchain and AI. It will transform how we live: from education, to advertising, to entertainment among many other activities.
The introduction of VR headsets together with high-bandwwidth connectivity and AI generated images will allow to change our shopping experience everywhere, from clothing to house decor, to real estate, etc. Your AI will help view how a new furniture inside your house will look like by giving you a tour. But it will also know your body measurements and use your online avatar to see if a new outfit may fit you. The COVID has opened the way a new human need: a new generation of virtual and fully-immersive collaboration environments to interact with your friends, co-workers, AI-bots, etc.
💊IMPROVING OUR HEALTH LIFE ?
CRISPR and Gene Therapies have been an important topic these last years. CRISPR is rapidly becoming a potent gene-editing tool capable of correcting gene age diseases ameliorating symptoms or “curing” diseases. From one side, it has the potential to address cancer, neuro-degenerative and inflammatory diseases and from the other, it has the potential to enable the de-extinction of lost species. Together with other gene therapies, they have the potential to treat infectious diseases such as AIDS or Ebola. Meantime, these therapies are increasing their precision and ease of use to allow treat and cure a vaste range of genetic diseases.
Recently, many biotech and pharmaceutical game changing projects have risen to look for ways to add +10 years to humans. Some see aging as a disease that can be solve either by stopping and/or reversing it with the goal of adding +30 years of healthy human life. Companies such as Vaxxinity, Celularity and Elevian are some of the entrepreneurial initiative tackling this problem. Gene therapy will be used to edit or replace degenerative genes as a way to correct them for genetic disorders. Cellular reprogramming will be use to reverse epigenetics of cells and their biologic age.
A preventive and personalised medicine will come ahead. A healthcare transition into health at home using biometric sensors (wearables, implantables and consumables) and in our environment (home and office). Our data will be AI screened and through this doctors will monitor our health problems passing from a reactive medicine to a preventative one allowing to detect dissease at their earliest stages.
⚡ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT & FOOD
Russia-Ukraine war has accelerated the energy issue. Advances in solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and fusion power are driving humanity towards a cheaper, more abundant and better renewable energy. The price / kilowatt-hour will drip and we will continue to displace fossil fueld globally.
The rise of awareness for concerns over the global warming will bring sustainability at the front pages. Breakthroughs in material sciences and AI will allow companies to improve carbon-capture and better recycle waste. New policy and economic incentives will transform industries to develop low-carbon footprint alternatives to their current methodologies and infrastructure.
Cellular agriculture and vertical farming are expanding their business. We will witness the birth of the most ethical, nutritious and envrionmentally sustainable protein production system such as stem-cell based meat which will reduce cost to produce a single molecule of cell-based meat below $10/kg by 2025 creating a mass-market way of replacing beef at minimal environmental impact. This technology will allow the ptoduction of beef, chicken and fish anywhere on-demand. Companies like OMeat or JUST are now scaling their production. Additionally, vertical farms offer an innovative and flexible solution to global agriculture towards climate change challenges. Vertical farming will bring more nutritious taste to food, increase food-production per year, reduce the need for pesticides and, reduce the transportation cost as it is produced close to the consumption points.