Visions of the Future
Trends we’re watching in 2023
At Captains of Innovation, we are passionate about innovation across an array of industries and applications. In 2023, we identified key trends that we will follow as the year progresses: from crypto to sustainability to AI-generated pharmaceuticals and anything in between. Below, read about the trends we’re following, what we predict will happen in the coming months, and how these trends could shift the current landscape.
Stay tuned for an update on where each trend stands later this year!
Impact: Sustainability has been a critical issue for years, but the increasing pace of climate change — and stark warnings from global leaders — have made it an even more urgent priority. In the private sector, many corporations have instituted individual corporate sustainability initiatives, corporate net-zero targets, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks, but individual efforts can only go so far. To significantly move the needle, corporations have begun to create coalitions that collectively work toward creating the innovations and technologies that will enable net zero emissions. Companies like Captains of Innovation will aid in these group initiatives to help organize and create actionable results that can be taken by the private sector. These initiatives will build momentum in 2023 and create a dynamic push and pull between the private and public sectors, which help advance global sustainability efforts.
Impact: Lack of housing in urban centers, the comparative affordability in secondary markets, industrial growth within tertiary markets, and flexible work agreements have bolstered a trend in business expansion and hiring in secondary and tertiary markets. Cities that are capable of combining unique ‘Main Street’ amenities with excellent residential options will likely be the most successful long-term; but many cities will see new activity patterns emerge, with a greater portion of activity in residential neighborhoods. In response, businesses will need to adapt their distribution and marketing strategies to these new patterns. Many small retail locations will likely beat out a few big retail locations. Coworking spaces may trend towards smaller locations and may also face new competitors from quick-serve restaurants and coffee shops that function as work-from-anywhere spaces. Creative and flexible thinking from local governments — such as leveraging government grants focused on climate change prevention, or the NSF Partnerships for Innovation funding — as well as community buy-in will underpin cities’ ability to truly thrive.
Impact: Coastal protection has long been important to places like New Orleans (think levees), Miami, and any coastal property. Last year saw incredible damage to Florida by Hurricane Ian, as well as damaging storm surges and floods around the world. Coastal resilience means more than protection and building barriers; it means working with nature to protect our shorelines and coastal communities, absorbing the power of the ocean. To date, our response to coastal destruction is a masterclass in insanity — doing the same thing over and over (e.g. building concrete and steel seawalls or rebuilding the same structures in the same place) and expecting a different result, even as circumstances worsen. There is plenty of science that tells us what can and should be done, and what technology can help us achieve it. This is the year that stakeholders position themselves to adapt effectively to climate change-induced coastal destruction.
Impact: Many unique inventions have been developed to address environmental concerns and reduce pollution. Recent innovations include a way to turn carbon emissions into ink for writing utensils, novel methods to separate trash out of our waterways, dissolvable 'plastic' water bottles, and machinery that creates energy from old tires. In 2023, I think these solutions will become more mainstream and more organizations will explore ways to utilize them at-cost in day to day life.
Impact: Over the past 40+ years, globalization has changed everything. The jobs in the US are imbalanced, and many small cities have been directly impacted. The loss of jobs and the horrible impact this has had on communities throughout the US is creating a backlash against globalization. But isolationism is not the solution. Instead, we must be very thoughtful about what our competitive advantage can be as a producer of things. CIC’s mission is to fix the world through innovation. As part of the CIC family, we at Captains of Innovation want to be leaders in the conversation. If you want to help people out of poverty, create jobs. If you want to create jobs, invest in innovation and specialize in key sectors.
Impact: There are close to 10,000 diseases and 70% of the 'targets' remain un-druggable. The avalanche of data being generated on compounds/molecules, genetics, clinical behavior of patients, and the natural history of disease is already leading to dramatic improvements in the field of drug discovery and development, in conjunction with the development of engineering tools to interrogate biology. Biology is hard and unpredictable, unlike physics, which is why it is easier to predictably and reproducibly send a spaceship to Mars than it is to develop a drug that works through complex biological mechanisms inside the human body. However, the 'industrialization of biology' is on an irreversible track and will have tremendous impact on human health in the coming years.
Impact: In the US, many people don’t worry about food scarcity. We’re used to having fresh food available in stores on demand. Yet supply chains are surprisingly fragile. Macro trends and events such as geopolitical instability, climate change, aging populations, and the changing nature of work have had powerful effects on farms and agricultural supply chains. But disruption isn’t always negative. New technologies, machine learning, and robotics can make existing agricultural practices more sustainable, productive, and efficient. Emerging models of agriculture — urban agriculture, vertical farming, aquaponics, and more — can also create agricultural footprints in areas that have traditionally been considered food deserts. Further, changing consumer demands and preferences are opening the market for innovations in the types of food that people eat, which may shift agricultural practices away from 20th century industrialized and livestock-centered models toward lab-based innovations. It’s evident that more focus and funding needs to be directed to this space to promote innovation in agriculture and support farmers and food producers.
