There’s no question that the most innovative technology of 2023 was generative artificial intelligence. With ChatGPT little more than a blip on the radar at the start of the year, by its end, every company was looking for ways to incorporate AI into its products, services, and workflow.

So, as we look ahead to 2024, how will AI innovation affect technology and society this year? Let’s look at some trends and make a few predictions about what will shape our year to come.

AI Leads the Way in Technology in 2024

To no one’s surprise, the most significant technology innovation in 2024 will continue to be artificial intelligence.

Gartner forecasts that AI will contribute 10% of all global data generation by the end of 2024.1 Goldman Sachs envisions the transformative impact on communication, labour productivity, and business workflows made possible by AI leading to a 7% boost in global GDP over the decade from 2024 to 2034.2 PwC pegs the potential increase in global GDP at closer to 14% over the same timeframe.3 IDC projects total global AI spending to surpass $300 billion by 2026 (up from $100 billion in 2022), while consumer spending on generative AI software alone is predicted to reach $81 billion by 2027.^{4 5}

Beginning in 2024, the ground-breaking inclusion of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) in most large language models (LLMs) is set to revolutionize generative AI. Expected to eliminate “hallucinations” in AI-generated content, RAG links generative AI to external sources, providing real-time information for more accurate responses.⁶ Leading companies, including Amdocs, Dropbox, Genentech, SAP, ServiceNow, and Snowflake, are already leveraging RAG to enhance their offerings.7

Exploring Quantum Computing in 2024

In 2024, quantum computing could emerge as a potential game-changer. The transformative power of quantum computing promises to revolutionize modern computing by solving hyper complex problems with unprecedented speed and at scale. Market projections indicate the substantial potential for growth, with the quantum computing market expected to grow from $928 million today to over $6.5 billion by 2030, driven by a CAGR of 32.1%.⁸

Continuous Threat Exposure Management Rolls Out for Cybersecurity

With the escalating use of AI by malicious actors and the corresponding need for enhanced security measures, 2024 looks set to be the year that Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) comes into its own in the cybersecurity industry.

CTEM uses attack simulations to identify vulnerabilities and mitigate cyber threats, including both patchable and unpatchable exposures, before hackers can use them. It is a proactive approach that validates enterprise exposure and remediation priorities by looking at things from the attackers’ perspective and shifts outcomes towards evidence-based security optimizations.⁹

Organizations embracing CTEM can expect a two-thirds reduction in breaches by 2026, according to Gartner.¹⁰ Embracing proactive cybersecurity validation technologies enhances an organization’s readiness in the face of evolving threats. And in the era of increased AI usage, CTEM will be a strategic imperative, emphasizing the urgency of proactive and continuous security assessment.¹¹

U.S. Spot Bitcoin Approval Could Shake Up FinTech

The cryptocurrency landscape is poised for significant developments in 2024, with the anticipated approval of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs early in the year, followed by likely approval for spot Ethereum ETFs before the year’s end.^{12 13} Despite a protracted journey, recent factors such as Grayscale’s legal victory over the SEC indicate the inevitability of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval in 2024, with analysts pegging a 90% likelihood of approval as early as January.^{14 15}

A U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF is seen as a game-changer for the sector, providing legitimacy, eliminating regulatory uncertainty, and offering a familiar investment vehicle.¹⁶ Institutional and retail demand is expected to surge, with major players like Fidelity and BlackRock entering the arena.¹⁷ The launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF has been likened to the transformative impact of gold ETFs, potentially triggering a significant BTC/USD appreciation.¹⁸

Beyond financial dynamics, approval would simplify institutional access to Bitcoin, boosting investor confidence and reshaping trading dynamics.¹⁹ Research indicates that the legitimacy conferred by a spot Bitcoin ETF could shift financial advisor recommendations dramatically, from just 12% currently recommending Bitcoin to a projected 77% upon approval, signalling a transformative moment for cryptocurrency investing.²⁰

Industry Cloud Platforms Set to Transform Cloud Computing

Industry Cloud Platforms (ICPs) are set to be a pivotal force in the cloud computing sector in 2024.

By amalgamating Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), ICPs create holistic product offerings that are customizable to the needs of specific business sectors and even of individual businesses.²¹ Their allure lies in their modular and composable approach, simplifying the delivery of goods and services through marketplaces and app stores.²²

These platforms will make companies more agile and adaptable to industry disruptions and allow businesses to innovate and add new, value-adding features to existing capabilities without the need for outright replacement, saving both time and money.²³

With less than 15% of enterprises using ICPs right now, 2024 will see adoption ramping up as over 70% of businesses are expected to harness industry cloud platforms by 2027, according to Gartner.²⁴

Could 2024 Be the Year of the Solid-State EV Battery?

In the quest for enhanced battery efficiency and affordability in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, both the public and private sectors are prioritizing advancements in battery technology. While lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) and nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) are the current standards for EV batteries, new chemistries such as cobalt-free (sodium-ion) and solid-state batteries are gaining prominence. Solid-state batteries, a focal point for the industry in 2024, offer faster charging, higher energy capacity, and improved safety.²⁵

Toyota has already promised solid-state EV batteries with a range of 745 miles and 10-minute charge time by 2027 and signed a deal to mass produce a solid-state EV battery with a range of 932 miles by 2028.^{26 27} Not be outdone, Beijing-based WeLion is already advertising what they call a “semi solid-state” battery with a range of 621 miles on a single charge. WeLion is currently building four battery plants in China and has plans to boost sales of its battery packs 20x in advance of an expected 2025 IPO.²⁸

Geopolitically, this surge in solid-state battery development could impact China’s hold on the EV battery market. With China producing 77% of all EV batteries last year, the Biden administration is urging increased battery manufacturing in the United States.²⁹ Notably, U.S. startup Factorial Energy has launched a solid-state battery factory in Massachusetts.³⁰ Manufacturers globally, including Japanese and Korean automakers and US startups like QuantumScape and Solid Power, are likewise aggressively pursuing solid-state battery technology, promising to reshape the future landscape of EVs and battery markets.³¹

A Breakthrough Year for Gene Therapies

2024 is likely to be a breakthrough year for many medical discoveries.

There are a number of cancer vaccines in mid- to late-stage development that we will begin to get results about in 2024. These include BioNTech’s pancreatic cancer vaccine, the Moderna/Merck melanoma vaccine, Nykode Therapeutics cervical cancer vaccine, OSE Immunotherapeutics cancer vaccine for non-small-cell lung cancer, and Transgene’s viral vector-based vaccine to treat ovarian and head and neck cancer.³²

And keep an eye on new genetic therapies based on advances using CRISPR technology. Two ground-breaking genetic treatments for sickle cell disease were approved in late 2023 that bode well for further advances in 2024.

Sickle cell disease affects around 100,000 Americans, predominantly African Americans and Hispanic Americans, due to an inherited blood disorder that mutates the shape of red blood cells, leading to severe pain and organ damage. Casgevy uses the CRISPR/Cas9 technology that won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to alter a patient’s genome. Using CRISPR, the defective instructions in the patient’s DNA are clipped out and replaced with instructions on making hemoglobin correctly. These modified cells are then injected into the subject’s bone marrow, and in about one month, the patient can produce their own non-sickled red blood cells. And because doctors use the patient’s own cells and DNA, there is no chance of rejection as with donor cells.³³

The success of these treatments bodes well for cutting-edge medical advances and approvals throughout 2024.

EDGE ETF: Investment in Innovation

The Evolve Innovation Index Fund (EDGE ETF) is an 8-in-1 innovation fund that invests in disruptive innovation themes across a broad range of industries, including: cloud computing, cybersecurity, egaming & esports, automobile innovation, 5G, fintech, genomics, and robotics & automation. For more information on EDGE ETF, visit our website at https://evolveetfs.com/edge/ or click here. Give your portfolio an EDGE.

 

Sources

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