“Whenever a market or a technology changes, thereʼs a huge opportunity for new businesses,” author and entrepreneur Seth Godin said in The Bootstrapper’s Bible.
Godin’s comment from more than a decade ago, which addresses what’s now generally referred to as “disruption,” resonates among entrepreneurs more than ever. To address this, we asked each of our launch week interviewees what technology is going to be the most bankable in the next few years? Here’s a selection of their answers.
Artificial Intelligence
“We’re at that tipping point,” says Sonia Strimban, Manager of Venture Operations at MarS Discovery District. Artificial intelligence is already ubiquitous and will grow. “That tech is coming exponentially. Deep learning is really accelerating the pace of applications, not just the core but the application layer of what AI can do.”
“There’s a lot of public misconceptions. There’s already so much AI that some people don’t realize,” she says. Films such as Spike Jonze’s Her, for example, might talk about AI, but don’t really represent its real-life use.
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Michelle McBane, director of the Investment Accelerator Fund, which is based at MaRS, noted that some entrepreneurs are deliberately adding machine learning to their startups to get noticed.
Virtual Reality
Matt Roberts, associate director at the IT Venture Fund at BDC Capital, says VR is worth watching in the longer term. “Everybody’s gotten a bit of a hype cycle going for it. We’re really going to start seeing excitement around VR in the next 2 to 3 years.”
“It’ll be like the Wii was for a generation,” he added. “A complete change of how people interact with technology.”
Self-driving cars
Bill Jacobson, founder and CEO of Boston-area startup space Workbar, says self-driving cars and the effect they have on transportation will be profound. “I have kids and I feel like they’re likely not going to own a car,” he says.
The technology could be coming a lot more quickly than we think, Jacobson added. “From a safety standpoint we’re in this middle ground where we have a driver that is highly distracted behind the wheel… that’s likely more dangerous than handing over control to a computer.”
Amir Azhari, president of AOMS – a Waterloo, Ontario-based fiber optic solutions startup, also identified self-driving cars. Azhari said AI’s rapid development is linked to autonomous vehicles’ success and regulations will catch up, even though “there are now just regulations and government laws that limit accessibility.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Which technologies did investors and founders see as most bankable in 2016?
Asked in 2016 which technology would be most bankable in the next few years, interviewees named artificial intelligence, virtual reality and self-driving cars.
Why did Sonia Strimban think AI had reached a tipping point?
Sonia Strimban of MaRS Discovery District said AI was already ubiquitous and growing exponentially, with deep learning accelerating applications. She added that there are public misconceptions, since much AI is already in use without people realizing.
How were some entrepreneurs using machine learning to get noticed?
Michelle McBane of the Investment Accelerator Fund noted that some entrepreneurs were deliberately adding machine learning to their startups to attract attention from investors.
When did Matt Roberts expect virtual reality to take off?
Matt Roberts of BDC Capital said in 2016 that excitement around VR would really start in the next two to three years. He compared it to what the Wii was for a generation, a complete change in how people interact with technology.
Why did Bill Jacobson think self-driving cars would be profound?
Bill Jacobson of Workbar said his children likely would not own a car. He argued that a highly distracted human driver is likely more dangerous than handing control to a computer, and that the technology could arrive faster than expected.