With 2016 in the books it is time to take a stab at the trends in technology headed our way in 2017.
1 – Disintermediation – This has been an ongoing trend that I expect to continue and even gain added speed in 2017. The primary focus of many of today’s startups is on replacing and improving upon the status quo. While many markets are a prime risk for this type of disruption, there are arguably very few that have as much at stake as the real estate market. Paying 6% to sell your home can’t last for much longer. Who is going to solve this and get mass mindshare first? Open Listings, Trelora, Open Door, Energized Real Estate, Side Door plus many more are already working on this problem.
2 – M&A – With lower taxes and the likelihood of repatriation of dollars held overseas in 2017, I expect for companies to go on a buying binge. While large deals have dominated the news recently, look for overall volume to increase in segments of all sizes. I will even throw one name out there. My guess is this is the year Lyft gets acquired. GM supposedly already took a shot at this in 2016 but if they don’t circle back, why not Google or Amazon? They both have the ability to take Lyft beyond second place in the ride sharing economy and really leverage the asset. Both also have ample reason not to let Uber dominate the sharing economy.
3 – Robotics – Are advancing very rapidly and are now involved with almost every aspect of business in some way or another. Get ready for the full invasion in 2017 as robots become more nimble, more specialized and more affordable. One of my favorites in this space is Casabots whose first product is a robotic salad maker. Very well designed, it helps existing food service providers with a variety of issues such as cleanliness, 24x7x365 service, freshness, convenience, made to order plus much more.
4 – SD Everything – If you think you were already overloaded with software defined this, that, and the other in 2016; believe me you haven’t seen anything yet! In 2017, with many companies already delivering core functionality, these systems will only get better. What’s more, they will invariably cause disruption in every category they enter. The biggest challenge here is analyzing the plethora of offerings from vendors eager to get your dollars.
5 – Customization – We live in a time when people want customization, in certain industries has even become full-fledged expectation. Therefore, in 2017 you can expect more companies to leverage technology to enable or enhance customization. Consider one of my favorites in this space called Benchmade Modern. Instead of buying something off of the showroom floor or, waiting months for custom furniture to be built from scratch and delivered, how about getting a sofa made to your exact liking?! You get to pick the style, fabric, color and size – plus the kicker is that the sofa is made in just 7 days! This is just one example but I expect this trend to proliferate this year.
6 – Space – While SpaceX and a number of companies have gotten in on the space race and are becoming household names. Quietly the mining of asteroids and cleanup of space has gotten attention. One company focused on this is Planetary Resources look for this sector to get more attention in coming years as VCs invest heavily in space.
7 – Agtech – is a space that seems prime for more investment in 2017. It’s simply too critical to civilization to be ignored, and yet it is still a very dangerous profession for many. Look for many technological advances to start the path to commercialization.
8 – Security – To be specific, I’m focusing on the security of physical property. Robotics are beginning to be implemented to address physical security such as Knightscope. Drone technology that can be deployed to monitor, warn or follow an intruder is not far behind, and could have an impact in 2017.
9 – Sensors – I expect sensors to make a major jump in capability in 2017. These days it is incredibly cheap to throw a sensor into almost anything. The proliferation will occur at break-neck speed in 2017.
10 – Genomics / Customized Medicine – will get a further boost from computing. Just consider 15 years ago it cost also $3B to sequence the human genome and today it can be done for around $1k. This huge improvement in cost opens the potential for many types of customized drugs and treatments.
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