​Three investing trends for 2017

In the midst of bubble discussions and rising valuations on startups, there are still deep pockets available to startups in 2017. In Sweden, the young tech companies are going for a record year in 2016 due to a flood of private investors joining the ranks of the angels. Below three sectors to keep en eye on.

AI, Chatbots and Automation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) consists of many technologies and the most advanced techniques have come far beyond simple algorithms. The technology gives rise to a variety of intelligent implementations; robots, self-driving cars, chatbots, virtual customer assistants. Customer support, trucking, farming, data entry and taxis will be mostly automated by 2025. Automation is going to replace many traditional working roles, up to half of manual labour by 2025, and in doing so, become a gigantic industry.

It is predicted that by the same date, every app and service will include AI to some extent. Actors poised to lead the sector will have investors keen interest.

Social Media

We are in the beginning of the social era, even though marketing analytics and social data have evolved exponentially. The segment still has large gains to make in marketing and news circulation. 44% of adults in the U.S. consume their news on Facebook. Everyone is a news source and with the ability to livestream, social media competes with mainstream media. With $11 billion ($3.1 billion 2013) in expected revenue in 2017 for social media advertising, players in the field can be sure to have investors full attention.

Digital transformation

Big enterprise will experience digital transformation on a massive scale in 2017 and the coming years. Enabled by digital technology platforms, which provide the building blocks for the transformation into becoming a digital business rather than a business with digital initiatives. The five major focal points are information systems, analytics and intelligence, internet of things, business ecosystems and customer experience.

The Cloud will be a major enabler, by 2020 it is predicted that 67% of enterprise digital infrastructure will relate to technologies based on the cloud. Enterprises will provide their own marketplaces where apps are integrated. The software will mimic apps which employees are used to in their private life. This will improve productivity and decision making. Real-time collaboration, communication and streamlined work flow will be at the core.

By: Ariel Kramer