Supertrends. Investing with purpose - REDIRECT New momentum and investment opportunities in technology

The impact of AI or machine learning continues to spread across sectors. AI proved to be instrumental in both identifying COVID-​19 treatments and delivering vaccines at record speed. Online education and edutainment have also benefited. Other industries have ramped up their AI capabilities as well.

According to IDC (International Data Corporation), worldwide AI market revenues – driven largely by software – are expected to surpass USD 500 bn by 2024.¹ The US, Europe and China have been competing in the AI space, with China leading in the number of businesses focused on AI-​driven services and applications, such as autonomous driving and natural language-​based education apps.

In the past year and a half, the 4th Industrial Revolution has also taken a clear step forward. From the deployment of collaborative robots to quantum computing, industrial automation technologies are fast replacing traditional manufacturing practices. In the aerospace industry, high-​powered quantum computer models have helped optimize the manufacturing of individual components within the overall system. Further partnerships between industrial and tech firms should be a boost for this disruptive technology.

Digital twin technology is also on the up, used for example in building information modeling (BIM) to construct greener, more efficient structures. The digital twin concept is defined by General Electric as software representations of assets and processes that are used to understand, predict and optimize performance in order to achieve improved business outcomes. More broadly, a Gartner survey revealed that 18% of the companies implementing the Internet of things (IoT) have already adopted digital twins, with an additional 70% planning to do so by Q4 2021.²