As we kick off a new year, here are four glimmers of hope we at Delphi see in the tech landscape right now. You’ve got to find reasons to be cheerful where you can, eh…
1️⃣ British innovation – It’s easy to forget that the UK is the undisputed European tech power. We have 130 companies worth $1bn+, more than our two next-placed rivals, Germany and France, combined. Over 800k people work in the UK tech sector, up from 140k a decade ago. We’re the world leader in fintech. We have three of the world’s top 10 universities. We keep creating brilliant startups and scaleups, and from a Delphi perspective we’re working with some great mid-sized firms looking to expand globally. There’s lots to be excited about!
2️⃣ Digital diversity – It’s easy to get depressed with the state of online speech and social media. The flipside is that people keep finding new ways to create connections and build communities online. New social platforms, new fandoms, new formats. It’s all out there if you look for it. People’s creativity never stops.
3️⃣ Regulation response – Maybe, just maybe, digital policy is finally maturing to grapple with the worst effects of tech on modern life. The Online Safety Act in the UK is coming into full force this year. More and more schools are looking at curbing smartphone use. All policymaking is messy and imperfect, but there’s no doubt that tech regulation is firmly on the political agenda now, unlike a few years ago.
4️⃣ Frontier tech – Renewable energy, EVs, new materials, new medical treatments… there’s some seriously spectacular stuff happening at the cutting edge of technology right now and a lot of it is going mainstream quickly too. It’s very different from the software-led innovation of the 2010s, but that’s all to the good.
I don’t know if that’s cheered you up but it’s helped me a little bit. Let me know if there’s anything giving you hope in tech as we start 2025!
