Technology That Rocks

Not entirely related, but these two posts nicely summarized two themes I’ve found in tech that I think are worth noting in this blog.

One is a post by Fred Wilson, on developer tools, companies that develop them and their value, as well as which developer tools / software are the best to invest in (and I presume he’d agree with me, if I suggested that’s also the best way to find an employer to work for / team to join — is the same company you’d also invest money in).

https://avc.com/2020/02/being-in-the-flow/

Another one is a post about a startup for autonomous yard trucks - that nicely summarizes why that team chose to pursue that problem space, as a good candidate for automation:

“Outrider CEO Andrew Smith said distribution yards are ideal environments to deploy autonomous technology because they’re well-defined areas that are also complex, often chaotic and with many manual tasks.

“This is why a systems approach is necessary to automate every major task in the yard,” Smith said.”

https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/19/autonomous-yard-trucking-startup-outrider-comes-out-of-stealth-with-53-million-in-funding/

In the face of the seemingly ever-growing set of challenges facing the global community, there are positive and encouraging news out of science & tech that give hope for a brighter future for all.

Two really exciting advances in healthcare technology, that I think are signs of monumental advances for medical care, are these following two stories that came out this January 2020:

https://www.healthimaging.com/topics/healthcare-economics/fda-clear-worlds-first-portable-mri

https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/20/machine-learning-finds-novel-antibiotic-able-to-kill-superbugs/

A recent theme I’ve been thinking of - is that a lot of opportunity in technology is to solve core problems for organizations, that have yet to be solved in a way that’s easily adopted and deployed. Core problems that are much more needed in the short term, than the long term vision apps and services.

One example is the problem of identity management. This raise by Persona is a good example of ventures seeking to solve this:

https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/28/persona-raises-17-5m-for-an-identify-verification-platform-the-goes-beyond-user-ids-and-passwords/

On an unrelated topic, there has been a lot of talk about Boston becoming unaffordable for entrepreneurs, young startups, and unattractive for those folk who want to take a risk on a job / team / young company. Thereby, there is talk about what the next tech / science / innovation hub in the New England area might be. Is it Worcester, Providence, Manchester/Nashua… or Portland, Maine? With this latest news, my bet is on the latter to become the latest city to attract creative minds, entrepreneurs and bring progress to the world:

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/01/27/maine-native-puts-up-100-million-for-portland-research-center/

I’m under the belief that the tech that will really transform how we work and live in the coming decade, is the tech that will help us better interact with the world around us.

Key word here is interact.

Not model the world around it. Not simulate it. Not discuss it or simply capture an image or audio representation of it.

But truly interact with it.

This is where I think the companies and technology to watch are those that interface with the world.

Some examples from this week:

https://www.geekwire.com/2020/exclusive-apple-acquires-xnor-ai-edge-ai-spin-paul-allens-ai2-price-200m-range/ —- tech to help us interact with objects in the visual field without touching the cloud

https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/15/nextnav-raises-120m-to-deploy-its-indoor-positioning-tech-to-find-people-in-skyscrapers/ —- help us interact with real estate

https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/14/anyline-series-a/ — interact with anything offline that has numbers or letters on it

Even this — where the interaction is between our bodies and the tech device:

https://www.engadget.com/2020/01/15/fitbit-blood-oxygen-tracking/

As we turn the page and start a new decade next week in 2020, I’d like to highlight a couple of future-looking posts from blogs I follow. It’s a great time to reflect on the past year and decade, and start to think about what’s coming next - for us as technologists, engineers, creators, thinkers, and consumers of what we design and create.

One highlight is the “The End of Cloud Computing” post by Peter Levine on A16Z blog site: https://a16z.com/2019/11/15/the-end-of-cloud-computing-2/

Another one is Fred Wilson’s post from his AVC blog:

https://avc.com/2019/12/annual-year-end-predictions/