10 trends HP Tech Ventures is watching in 2022
Our team at HP Tech Ventures is proud to work in some of the world’s most innovative industries, from advanced manufacturing to the Metaverse. As such, we are constantly monitoring for emerging technologies and trends that impact those industries.
Here are ten trends our team is watching throughout the rest of 2022, based on our focus areas:
1. Advanced Manufacturing: Smart factories
Advanced manufacturing has seen incredible growth within the last few years, with several large manufacturers integrating 3D printing and digital manufacturing into their processes. Prompted by the pandemic, labor shortages, and supply chain struggles, more companies are now realizing the opportunity presented by advanced manufacturing capabilities.
As more companies adopt advanced manufacturing processes using software from companies like AMT and Twikit, we’re likely to see a deeper investment in fully integrated and autonomous smart factories. Along with its ensuing dilemmas, the pandemic created fractures in our society which emerging technologies and startups have rushed to fix with incredible innovations. These include improved cloud computing, an increased focus on cybersecurity solutions, and the acceleration of automation and AI.
These innovations are likely to play a significant role in creating and driving true smart factories.
2. Artificial Intelligence: AI-powered supply chain management
Since the start of the pandemic, the world has seen global supply chain disruptions caused by labor shortages, shipping disasters, and mismatched supply and demand. Navigating these constant disruptions quickly became a logistical nightmare for most organizations, so much so that enterprises are now investing in technologies that will simplify supply chain management, such as automation and AI.
With platforms like 7bridges gaining funding and 85% of supply-chain leaders struggling with insufficient digital technologies, this is absolutely an area to keep an eye on.
3. Device Security: Zero-trust security
After a large portion of the world moved to remote work during the pandemic, many organizations scrambled to implement new security strategies to keep their systems safe. With significant increases in cybersecurity threats, many organizations turned to the zero-trust model. While zero-trust security is not a new framework, it is now becoming the primary practice for cybersecurity. Federal agencies are also adopting this framework after the White House issued an executive order in May of 2021 calling for improved national cybersecurity.
With most organizations adopting this approach, the zero-trust security market is bound to see intensive growth on a global scale. In 2020, the global market was estimated at $18.3 billion and is now projected to reach $64.4 billion by 2027.
While many organizations will be implementing zero-trust principles, it’s also fair to expect companies to build this strategy into their products and services, as HP has done with HP Wolf Security.
4. Digital Health: Improved health data infrastructure and technology
The healthcare industry has seen enormous strain throughout the past two years, caring for COVID-19 patients and attempting to prepare for future strains and emergencies. While there have been many powerful innovations within healthcare during this time, one pain point continues to gain attention from healthcare professionals, patients, and startups alike: data management.
Data collection in healthcare is an arduous task and creating an infrastructure that works for both healthcare professionals and patients is equally difficult. Gleaning essential information from physicians’ notes, prioritizing patient privacy, and sharing health data across platforms seems a nearly impossible task on top of everyday patient care and emergencies.
To address this, companies like Verana Health are stepping in to provide tools to make the collection and organization of medical data a more seamless process. Such tools would allow for more data-driven insights and decisions, and investors are paying attention.
5. Edge Computing: Pressure from the growth of IoT
The IoT and smart home devices markets are predicted to grow to a whopping $1.8 trillion and $156 billion by 2028, respectively. This growth, spurred by the increase in home offices and wearable technologies, will likely speed up the advancement of edge computing as IoT devices produce more data and demand more processing power.
Edge computing empowers IoT to increase operational efficiency by moving away from more distant computing services, such as the cloud. It can better manage the large amounts of data generated by these devices. This would result in faster processing times and more actionable insights for those using wearable tech or remote repair services.
Startups like mimik are creating solutions for this, with participation from investors who see the benefits of improved data processing at the edge.
6. Gaming & eSports: NFTs
NFTs have been all the rage since their introduction last year, and now game developers are looking to integrate them into gameplay. With NFTs, gamers can own their digital goods within games rather than lease them from merchants. Cryptocurrency also comes into play, allowing gamers to earn assets that are valued outside of the game’s world, as well.
This integration, however, has been met with extreme resistance from gaming aficionados. They argue that NFTs only benefit game developers, doing nothing to improve gameplay.
While the “blockchainization” of gaming is likely to continue, how NFTs will fit into the industry is yet to be determined.
7. Extended Reality: Metaverse
The current tech trend gaining the most attention is the metaverse, without question. While the idea of the metaverse has been around for decades, modern tech companies began publicly embracing and exploring its full potential at the end of 2021. The impact of the metaverse has yet to be fully discovered, but companies, individuals, and investors are still exploring what it could mean for our future.
Technologies like Mojo Vision’s AR contact lenses and BehaVR’s therapeutic VR offerings would be well-suited to the metaverse, and other companies are exploring more technologies that would amplify its capabilities, from eye-tracking to haptics. While these technologies aren’t new, their use within the metaverse could help create a fully immersive and data-rich experience for both users and brands. Investors are paying attention to companies that will contribute to the backbone of the metaverse, such as Cloudfare and Roblox, and individuals are considering what the new virtual world could mean for our digital identities and the future of work and society.
8. 3D Printing: Alleviating supply chain woes
As mentioned previously, supply chain issues have plagued the past two years and will likely continue into 2022, presenting the perfect opportunity for companies to embrace 3D printing capabilities.
Many companies, including HP, turned to 3D printing to create medical gear and other essential components during the pandemic. This trend is likely to continue in the future, especially as more manufacturers explore new materials, from resin to metal 3D printing. As supply chain issues persist, companies are turning to 3D printing to fill the need for essential parts. By embracing this technology, companies are striving for a reduction in both costs and time to market, as well as enabling customization and personalization for end-users.
9. EdTech: Demand for online learning and improved communication tools
Online learning didn’t end as 2020 came to a close. Instead, it persisted intermittently throughout 2021 and the beginning of 2022, with educators and parents constantly adjusting to meet students’ needs.
After two years of online learning, the demand for improved communication tools fit for school is at an all-time high. Several startups have created platforms to fill this need, including the recent winner of HP Tech Ventures’ track at the GES Awards, CLASSUM. Founded by two female college students in South Korea, CLASSUM provides an interactive virtual space that caters to the needs of students and teachers, complete with an AI teaching assistant.
As online learning continues to become a staple in our education systems, more tools and technologies will be needed to create an empowering experience for students and teachers, and more startups like CLASSUM will need to fill the gaps.
10. Future of Work: Empowering employees to work from home and office
Just two years ago, hybrid work seemed an idealistic view of the future of work. After the world rapidly adjusted to remote work during the pandemic, the future of work has arrived in full, quicker than many expected.
Though some companies are beginning to return to pre-Covid office protocols, many others are embracing hybrid work and exploring different approaches based on employee needs. According to a recent study from Accenture, 83% of workers prefer the hybrid work model over fully remote or office models, and it’s up to business leaders and managers to find ways to create a connected hybrid workplace.
While the majority of workers prefer hybrid work, there is still a significant need for human connection among colleagues. The key to sustainable hybrid work lies in implementing and improving technologies that ensure employees feel included, regardless of location. From high-quality webcams and audio setups to powerful collaboration tools, technology will be the defining factor in employee experience.
The world is constantly changing, never more so than in the past two years and counting. Our team has witnessed incredible innovation from our partners, portfolio companies, and focus areas, and we are looking forward to the advances to come.
What trends are you keeping an eye on this year?
