Five tech trends in 2022

In recent years, there were a lot of innovations in the field of technology. The self-driving car, commercial flights to space, artificial intelligence in healthcare and so on. So MASTERS took a look, what is hot and happening in the field of technology.Text: Noa Verseveldt
Online Editor: Patrick Stoffer

Custom supply-chain

After a year in which consumer demand had a surge and the global flow of goods came under pressure, production chains, the path a product takes from supplier to customer, will be improved in 2022. Most likely, collaborations between companies will also improve as a result. This step was necessary because we see retailers and manufacturers facing the risk of an inadequate production chain. By this is meant that the production chain cannot deliver in what is expected. In doing so, an adjusted production chain will help accelerate investments and acquisitions. Adapting the production chain is mainly about helping to connect suppliers, upgrading systems for industry service providers. And also building interconnectedness between companies and making data exchange easier for companies.

Electric vehicles with mergers and acquisitions

Emerging electric vehicle designers will consider mergers with special "acquisition companies. Some start-up specialty electric vehicle companies are considering such a merger with special acquisition companies. This will allow the industry to grow further. SigmaSense, a provider of touchscreen technology, plans to apply its system to electric vehicles in 2022. The company will consider a merger if it begins generating revenue in 2023. An industry consultant expects smaller, specialized vehicle manufacturers such as Tropos Technologies to be candidates for merger or acquisition. Full-sized passenger cars are more expensive to build and harder to market.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

Buy now, pay later

The buy now, pay later sector has seen a surge of interest and transactions that many professionals and insiders expect to continue into 2022. The services allow customers to pay for purchases after the fact, without any knowledge of the buyer's financial situation. The four largest global companies are: US-based Affirm, Australian company Afterpay, Sweden-based Klarna and Australian company Zip. Sezzle, Zip, Openpay and Laybuy are seen as potential companies to be acquired. Klarna and Affirm may not be bought so easily. Rather, they are seen as potential buyers. More regulations could come into play in 2022, though. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened an investigation into Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal and Zip in December. The bureau is concerned about accumulating consumer debt and data collections. An executive of one of the companies said he would not be surprised if regulations around checkout change. For example, the time limit on missed payments. But he also said this is unlikely to deter mergers and acquisitions in the industry .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

Space tourism

The technological advances of 2021 will ensure that space tourism will continue to evolve this year. Last year, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic introduced space tourism. SpaceX's Starship was finally launched for a successful mission and NASA landed its rover on Mars. It is estimated that the global space industry could grow from about €308 billion to as much as €882 billion by 2040. A significant number of space companies also went public in 2021 through acquisition mergers. If the industry continues to make frequent use of acquisition mergers, it could lead to the industry merging, causing the suppliers they seek to recruit for technologies or employees to merge into one another. It is expected that more technologies will be incorporated into space operations.

Mobile games

Investors have taken note of the rising value in games and acquisitions. Investors have been fueled by the money being pumped into the market. The huge market opportunity is perhaps the biggest attraction. It is estimated that the global games market will reach €158.9 billion in sales by 2021. With mobile games bringing in €82.1 billion, followed by console games (€44.4 billion) and PC games (€32.3 billion). Mobile games are ripe for amalgamation because they are more accessible than other types of online games. It is less time- and money-intensive to create mobile games than to build games.