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The advent of tech for investors
Technology is set to have a huge impact in the next five years, with five separate areas being slated as about to have a marked impact on society, according to an investment management CEO.

The advent of tech for investors
Technology is set to have a huge impact in the next five years, with five separate areas being slated as about to have a marked impact on society, according to an investment management CEO.

During Nikko Asset Management’s The Ripple Effect of Change event, ARK Invest CEO Catherine Wood explained a number of technological innovations that are set to change the world and are worthy of noting by investors.
Technology is having a profound impact on society and investors, with five “innovative platforms” changing society, the CEO outlined.
These innovative platforms have been named as DNA sequencing, blockchain, AI, robotics and energy storage.
Ms Wood said as technology costs continue to fall, companies within the innovative platform sectors will continue to thrive in the industry, with exponential growth to be expected.
DNA sequencing – Ms Woods said last year alone, 2.4 million whole human genomes were sequenced, which is half of all the human genomes sequenced in human history.
The CEO stipulated that as costs fall from thousands of dollars to mere hundreds per sequence, that number will grow to 100 million in five years.
Blockchain – While not ready for the developed world, Ms Wood indicated a belief that countries experiencing hyperinflation and sensitive political issues will benefit from the technology.
“Trading is taking place in Venezuela, Argentina and Zimbabwe where the regimes are destroying purchasing power and wealth,” she explained.
AI – With the advent of deep learning, a subset of artificial intelligence that takes the human programmer out of the process will become more common.
“In order to get an autonomous vehicle from point A to B as quickly and safely as possible, we will unleash big data, algorithms, supercomputer powers and together they will get a car from point A to B,” the CEO noted.
Robotics – Robotics are “ready for prime time” because the average cost of an industrial robot today is roughly $US27,000, but by 2026, this figure will fall to a predicted $11,000.
Collaborative robots covered in sensors are going to fix labour shortages, Ms Wood outlined, with the units that are out there to be scaled from last year’s figure of 500,000 to an expected 3,500,000 next year.
Energy storage – Ms Wood expects electric vehicle sales to rise within the next five years, with the price of an electric vehicle to fall below the cost of a Toyota Camry by that time.
“Electric vehicles will go from roughly 1.6 million units last year to 26 million units in five years,” she indicated.
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