OurCrowd has livestreamed its top 10 Post-Pandemic Tech Trends to a global audience. The event, based on a popular session of the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit held every year in Jerusalem, was broadcast online after the pandemic prevented the Summit from being held this year.
“We are not getting together in person, but we’re bringing the tech trends to the people online,” said Jon Medved, OurCrowd’s Founder and CEO, opening the broadcast. “It’s extremely important this year given the unprecedented growth of the tech investment scene driven by the unbelievable digital transformation that has affected all of our lives. There is no better time to analyse what the tech trends are for the smart investor, and where the technology market is moving.”
The event was hosted by Alex Roy, a motorsports champion turned tech investor and entrepreneur. “I’m obsessed with making the impossible possible, and making science fiction, science fact,” Roy said. “The best way to predict the future, is to build the future. That’s why I became an OurCrowd investor.”
Speakers included Andrea Wasserman, Head of Global Commerce at Verizon Media; Richard Stiennon, IT Security Industry expert; and Dr. Paul Rothman, Dean of the School of Medicine & CEO at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Featured startups under the ‘Work, Pray, Love: Life goes virtual’ category were Papaya Global, which has revolutionised workplace onboarding and engagement, and automated global payroll; JumpCloud, which provides secure remote access without on-premises hardware; and Bizzabo, the event platform that pivoted during the pandemic to provide new technologies to maximizeparticipant engagement at virtual and hybrid events.
“We proved a set of tools to help big companies successfully run events, enabling them to be more data-driven and strategic about their events,” Bizzabo CEO Eran Ben-Shushan explained. “At the beginning of COVID, we didn’t know what events would look like. Very quickly as a company, we pivoted thanks to the incredible culture and talent that we have here.”
“We are on a mission to redefine events,” Ben-Shushan said. “We believe that looking to the future of events, and future trends that we are identifying, it is all about reinventing the hybrid experience. We are excited to be leading the revolution in this market.”
“Science for Dinner,” focusing on trends in the food tech industry, featured Aleph Farms; BlueNalu, which makes fresh and frozen sea food products from lab cultivated cells; Ripple Foods’ dairy alternative products; and indoor vertical farmers, Plenty.
“There is a consensus among experts that one of the biggest challenges in the food industry is finding alternative protein sources to feed the increasing world population,” said Dr. Tammy Meiron, CTO of the FreshStart food-tech incubator. “The global and alternative protein market is expected to reach $27 billion by 2027. We are in a continuous process of climate crisis negatively affecting the crops, and we have more people to feed with the same land and water resources.”
“There are several promising protein sources that are being intensively developed currently: plant-based algae and micro algae, insect, fermentation, tissue culture, and others,” she said.
Startups helping ‘Retailers double down on digital’ include Clinch and the checkout-free shops created by Zippin.
Noam Levavi, CEO of ByondXR, explained the technology powering the trend of ‘Monetizing virtual reality beyond gaming’.
“Experiences that were originally built into the physical world, are not translating well into 2-D and static images, and this is where Beyond XR comes in to play. Our solution allows buyers into a virtual store to experience and visual products using our capabilities,” Levavi said.
“Water means business” featured BlueGreen Technologies, whose LakeGuard technology is clearing toxic bluegreen algae from contaminated lakes, restoring billions of gallons of drinking water.
Eli Nir, leading water technology investor and OurCrowd partner, explained, “Water technology companies have been around for a long time. What we are seeing today is a new breed of companies which are truly technology companies. With significant and excellent IT in a range of fields, all the way into AI and cyber security, using machine learning to prevent hackers getting into critical water infrastructure.”
Zvi Schreiber, CEO of Freightos, the international online freight marketplace, explained the importance and the size of the logistics and shipping industry, as part of the next trend, “Logistics are suddenly sexy.” Noting the chaos caused by the Suez Canal blockage, and the impact on the global supply chain caused by the pandemic, Schreiber noted in a recent BBC interview that “The last big change was the standardised containers in the 1950s, since then not much has changed.”
Also featured were Trellis, which uses AI and cognitive learning to optimise the food, beverage and agriculture supply chain, and BionicHIVE, which can turn any warehouse into a robotic logistics hub.
“The pandemic has more than doubled the inflation rate of e-commerce from 15% annually before 2020, to almost 40% today, with significant impact across the supply chain. It is clear that supply chains must evolve in efficiency, capacity, and agility,” said Ilan Reingold, CEO of BionicHIVE.
Introducing the trend “Data gets really big,” host Alex Roy noted that even though the phrase “Big Data” is dramatically overused, the smart application of data and information has become the new priority for emerging technologies.
Full list of trends and speakers:
1. Pivot to Virtual
‘Work. Pray. Love: Life Becomes Virtual’
From e-Commerce to work-at-home to online gatherings, the world has moved on-screen and startup tech is powering it.
Companies: Bizzabo, Papaya Global, Jumpcloud
Speaker: Eran Ben-Shushan, CEO, Bizzabo
2. FoodTech
‘Science Is for Dinner’
Plant-based and lab-produced food is disrupting a $6 trillion industry, meeting demand for quantity, quality, and sustainability.
Companies: Plenty, BlueNalu, Ripple, Aleph Farms
Speakers: Tammy Meiron, CTO, Fresh Start Incubator
3. e-Commerce
‘Retailers Double Down on Digital’
As 60% of our interactions with companies are now online, retailers are ramping up AI and AR personalization, localization, voice shopping and chatbots.
Companies: ByondXR, Ordergroove, Clinch
Speakers: Noam Levavi, CEO, BeyondXR; Andrea Wasserman, Head of Global Commerce, Verizon Media
4.Water
‘Water Means Business’
Innovation is being put to the test to make the world’s most essential natural resource safe and abundant for individuals and industry alike.
Companies: BlueGreen Water Technologies, IXDen, WINT
Speaker: Eli Nir, Investment Partner, OurCrowd
5. Data
‘Data Gets Really, Really Big’
New technologies are increasing accessibility and understanding of the world’s greatest non-natural resource, applying it in every industry.
Companies: data.world, Materials Zone, Dataloop
Speaker: Stav Erez, Partner Labs/02
6. Logistics
‘Logistics Are Suddenly Sexy’
The past year has shined a light on how vital – and how vulnerable – supply chains are, and the need for innovation to improve them.
Companies: Freightos, Trellis, BionicHive
Speakers: Ilan Reingold, CEO, BionicHIVE; Zvi Schreiber, CEO, Freightos
7. MedTech/Digital Health
‘Telemedicine a Day Keeps the Doctor Away’
Onsite diagnostic testing, online medical visits, and remote monitoring are just the beginning of the revolution in healthcare.
Companies: Tytocare, Sweetch, Sight Diagnostics
Speakers: Dr Paul Rothman, Dean of School of Medicine & CEO, Hopkins Medicine; Dr Eyal Zimlichman, MD, MSc (MHCM), Deputy Director General, Chief Medical Officer & Chief Innovation, Sheba Medical Center
8. AI
‘Spatial Computing Maps the Future’
Advanced AI tech is both driving and leveraging the spatial computing revolution, which will bring human-machine and machine-machine interactions to new levels.
Companies: TetaVI, Edgybees, ByondXR, CorrActions
Speakers: Ori Inbar, AR and XR industry expert, lecturer and startup founder; Gilad Talmon, CEO, TetaVI
9. Green Energy
‘Energy Goes Green, Clean, and Lean’
Innovative solutions are taking hold to meet both surging energy needs and demands for sustainability.
Companies: mPrest, H2Pro, Dandelion Energy
Speaker: Kathy Hannun, President and Co-Founder, Dandelion Energy
10. Quantum Computing
‘Quantum Computing Beefs Up, Scales Up, and Shores Up’
The promise of quantum computing has been blunted by challenges in scalability, programming, and security, but help is on the way.
Companies: Entangled Networks, QuantLR, Classiq, Quantum Machines
Speaker: Nir Minerbi, CEO, Classiq
Bonus trend : Cybersecurity
‘Cybersecuring the World’
There are no longer any industries or applications that don’t require protection, meaning cybersecurity has become fundamental to every sector and every trend.
Speaker: Richard Stiennon, IT Security Industry Analyst, Adviser, Lecturer & Author
