What College Students Taught Us About Predicting Future Tech Trends

The CB Insights Intelligence Unit welcomed three interns for a recent 10-week internship — Amanda DiTrolio, Sam Evarts, and Caroline Leng — to identify and analyze emerging technology trends across financial services, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, and other industries.

Pursuing degrees in everything from chemical engineering to economics to data analytics at NYU, UPenn, and Denison University, the trio used problem-solving techniques and their passion for technology to predict the next big trends of tomorrow.

For their final presentation, the team leveraged CB Insights’ funding and investor data, media trackers, patents database, and startup momentum algorithms to dive into trends including:

• Optical computing – Computer engineers move past electrons and use photons to create the next era of commercial computing.
• Neuromorphic computing – Researchers look to replace traditional Boolean logic with functions that sense and perceive information like the human brain.
• DNA data storage – With the amount of annual data produced expected to quadruple by 2025, scientists turn to DNA for storing large sums of data.
• Optogenetics – Our understanding of the brain is limited, but optogenetics provides a greater understanding of the organ and its activity.
• Aircraft innovation – Large aviation companies manufacture electric aircraft and leverage quantum computing to make flight more sustainable.
• Second-life battery tech – Startups and universities explore ways to recycle and extend battery lifespan to power the future.

Check out last Year’s intern presentation:

The CB Insights Intelligence Unit welcomed two interns last summer – Chris Lin and Shriya Iyer – whose final presentation involved using the CB Insights platform to identify and analyze early-stage trends in high-growth sectors.

Shriya and Chris are both part of the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology at UPenn, a dual degree program that gives students the chance to earn concurrent degrees in business and engineering.

For their final presentation, the duo leveraged CB Insights’ funding and investor data, media trackers, patents database, and startup momentum algorithms to dive into trends including:

• Space drones for planetary exploration, defense, and more
• Pulsar-based navigation for the future of deep space exploration
• The future of sensors: paint-based and biological ambient sensor technology
• Mobile health computer vision diagnostics for personalized care
• The new internet focused on user anonymity, distributed data storage, and hyper-efficient digital transactions

We’ve embedded the full deck below, which not only dives into all these trends and more, but also highlights some of the tools available on the CB Insights platform.

If you enjoyed the presentation, you may also be interested in some of the published briefs written by our summer 2018 interns, such as Chris’ analysis of AI in the gaming industry, or Shriya’s deep-dive into the growing cannabis industry.  

Check out the intern presentation from 2017:

The CB Insights research team welcomed three interns in 2017 — Kristen Tilley, Jimmy Xue, and Alyce Ge — who used the CB Insights platform to uncover and analyze early-stage trends in hot sectors.

Kristen and Jimmy are both part of the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology at UPenn, a dual degree program that gives students the chance to earn concurrent degrees in business and in engineering. Alyce is majoring in applied mathematics at Columbia Engineering, and previously took time off from her studies to work full time in business development at Lucid Motors and in venture capital with Autotech Ventures.

The team leveraged CB Insights’ funding and investor data, media trackers, patents database, and startup momentum algorithms to dive into trends including:

• Startups using blockchain to reduce fraud in real estate and expedite transfer of real estate ownership
• The rise of fully automated convenience stores in China
• Shipping giants and military agencies backing underwater drone startups
• Startups helping CPG brands increase supply chain transparency with blockchain
• Virtual reality showing promise in mental health treatments

Interested in learning more or joining the team? Learn more about our platform here and check out our current job openings here.