Unicorns in edtech, gaming, and streaming were already attracting significant interest before 2020; they collectively raised $23.8 billion between 2016 and 2019. But it was during the pandemic (defined in our study as January 2020 through the end of our study period, which was June 30, 2021) that they took off, bringing in $29.9 billion. Members of Gen Z, the digital natives born between 1997 and 2012, found themselves uprooted during their formative years both socially and academically. Around the world, this cohort had to quickly make key parts of their lives fully virtual through learning remotely and playing games online to stay connected with friends.
This transformation has become a social phenomenon that is bringing the metaverse, a tech-enabled digital world, to life. Innovation often looks to the next generation, and much of Gen Z is now mature enough to start driving behaviors and usage of technology—with the rest of society following suit. And increasingly the tech world is going to cater to their needs and preferences. For example, demand for the products and services of edtech, gaming, and streaming unicorns has skyrocketed, as have their valuations. Thirty-three entertainment and media companies have achieved unicorn status since 2020.
• Edtech scaled rapidly when many school buildings shuttered and students were forced to quarantine for prolonged periods, and when employees sought virtual options for professional and personal skill development. During the pandemic, edtech unicorns raised (on an annualized basis) eight times the annual amount raised from 2016 through 2019. Tutoring platforms Byju (based in India) and Yuanfudao and Zuoyebang (based in China) received massive investment (each attracted $3 billion to $4 billion in funding between 2016 and 2021). The Business Standard reported that Byju had 100 million registered students and 6.5 million paid subscribers as of September 2021.
• Gaming unicorns raised (on an annualized basis) more than double the amount of capital during the pandemic that they raised during the previous four years. This reflects gaming’s transformation into an environment for social connectivity, and, in the near future, marketplaces. Gaming industry analytics firm Newzoo reported that the global gaming market generated $177.8 billion in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 23%. Growth in gaming unicorns has been driven by US-based pre-pandemic unicorns Epic Games and Magic Leap.
• Similar to gaming unicorns, streaming unicorns more than doubled the annual billions raised during the pandemic compared to 2016–19. Streaming has become omnipresent. For example, Sweden-based music streaming company Spotify, which was a unicorn until it went public in 2018, grew its user base from 77 million in 2015 to 365 million in 2021. TikTok (founded in 2016) and its competitor Kuaishou (founded in 2011) have each grown to a staggering 1 billion monthly active users during the pandemic.
This trend is just getting started—the convergence of the metaverse, crypto, and 5G has the potential to create a web 3.0 economy that we can’t yet fully envision, and that will evolve over the course of the decade.
https://www.arator.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/22.jpg7461536panoshttps://www.arator.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Arator_no-background-325x100-1-300x92.pngpanos2022-01-19 13:41:112022-01-21 14:25:37PWC: Unicorns in Digital Economy: 5 Emerging Trends
Cloud has immense potential, but most companies are only scratching the surface. Recent research clarifies where the value lies—and how to capture it before competitors do.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel made the decision to build his mRNA research-and-development platform on public cloud to create what he calls “software for life.”
He used the cloud as a means to accelerate therapeutic discovery and development. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, this strategy proved prescient.
The company was well positioned to quickly design research experiments and to harness its automated laboratory and manufacturing processes and enhanced drug-discovery pipeline.
https://www.arator.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/bigstock-South-And-North-Pole-And-All-T-50491877.jpg7461536panoshttps://www.arator.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Arator_no-background-325x100-1-300x92.pngpanos2021-03-03 13:52:312021-03-03 13:53:02Cloud’s Trillion-Dollar Prize is Up For Grabs
How has the global market exchange remained relevant to its stakeholders after 50 years? By embracing changes in technology, society, and the economy and by meeting customers’ needs with innovation.
From disrupter to incumbent and back—that’s been the 50-year journey of the Nasdaq (also known by its more formal name, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system). It was the first electronic market exchange when it launched in February 1971; it later established itself as the listing home of technology lions such as Apple and Microsoft; and now, Nasdaq itself is a provider of market technologies, such as data and analytics services, for other exchanges worldwide.
In an interview with McKinsey’s Vijay D’Silva and Roberta Fusaro, Nasdaq president and CEO Adena Friedman explains where the company has been in its first five decades and where it’s going—specifically, how it’s pursuing growth and innovation, how it manages its role as both user and provider of data, and how it’s thinking about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, all while remaining relevant to investors worldwide.
https://www.arator.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/nasdaq-50.jpg7461536panoshttps://www.arator.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Arator_no-background-325x100-1-300x92.pngpanos2021-02-10 09:08:492021-02-17 13:23:44Nasdaq turned 50 on February 8, 2021. How have the markets and the company changed over the past five decades?
PWC: Unicorns in Digital Economy: 5 Emerging Trends
/in Private Equity /by panosUnicorns in edtech, gaming, and streaming were already attracting significant interest before 2020; they collectively raised $23.8 billion between 2016 and 2019. But it was during the pandemic (defined in our study as January 2020 through the end of our study period, which was June 30, 2021) that they took off, bringing in $29.9 billion. Members of Gen Z, the digital natives born between 1997 and 2012, found themselves uprooted during their formative years both socially and academically. Around the world, this cohort had to quickly make key parts of their lives fully virtual through learning remotely and playing games online to stay connected with friends.
This transformation has become a social phenomenon that is bringing the metaverse, a tech-enabled digital world, to life. Innovation often looks to the next generation, and much of Gen Z is now mature enough to start driving behaviors and usage of technology—with the rest of society following suit. And increasingly the tech world is going to cater to their needs and preferences. For example, demand for the products and services of edtech, gaming, and streaming unicorns has skyrocketed, as have their valuations. Thirty-three entertainment and media companies have achieved unicorn status since 2020.
• Edtech scaled rapidly when many school buildings shuttered and students were forced to quarantine for prolonged periods, and when employees sought virtual options for professional and personal skill development. During the pandemic, edtech unicorns raised (on an annualized basis) eight times the annual amount raised from 2016 through 2019. Tutoring platforms Byju (based in India) and Yuanfudao and Zuoyebang (based in China) received massive investment (each attracted $3 billion to $4 billion in funding between 2016 and 2021). The Business Standard reported that Byju had 100 million registered students and 6.5 million paid subscribers as of September 2021.
• Gaming unicorns raised (on an annualized basis) more than double the amount of capital during the pandemic that they raised during the previous four years. This reflects gaming’s transformation into an environment for social connectivity, and, in the near future, marketplaces. Gaming industry analytics firm Newzoo reported that the global gaming market generated $177.8 billion in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 23%. Growth in gaming unicorns has been driven by US-based pre-pandemic unicorns Epic Games and Magic Leap.
• Similar to gaming unicorns, streaming unicorns more than doubled the annual billions raised during the pandemic compared to 2016–19. Streaming has become omnipresent. For example, Sweden-based music streaming company Spotify, which was a unicorn until it went public in 2018, grew its user base from 77 million in 2015 to 365 million in 2021. TikTok (founded in 2016) and its competitor Kuaishou (founded in 2011) have each grown to a staggering 1 billion monthly active users during the pandemic.
This trend is just getting started—the convergence of the metaverse, crypto, and 5G has the potential to create a web 3.0 economy that we can’t yet fully envision, and that will evolve over the course of the decade.
READ MORE
Cloud’s Trillion-Dollar Prize is Up For Grabs
/in Private Equity /by panosCloud has immense potential, but most companies are only scratching the surface. Recent research clarifies where the value lies—and how to capture it before competitors do.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel made the decision to build his mRNA research-and-development platform on public cloud to create what he calls “software for life.”
He used the cloud as a means to accelerate therapeutic discovery and development. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, this strategy proved prescient.
The company was well positioned to quickly design research experiments and to harness its automated laboratory and manufacturing processes and enhanced drug-discovery pipeline.
McKinsey Quarterly
READ MORE
Nasdaq turned 50 on February 8, 2021. How have the markets and the company changed over the past five decades?
/in Private Equity /by panosHow has the global market exchange remained relevant to its stakeholders after 50 years? By embracing changes in technology, society, and the economy and by meeting customers’ needs with innovation.
From disrupter to incumbent and back—that’s been the 50-year journey of the Nasdaq (also known by its more formal name, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system). It was the first electronic market exchange when it launched in February 1971; it later established itself as the listing home of technology lions such as Apple and Microsoft; and now, Nasdaq itself is a provider of market technologies, such as data and analytics services, for other exchanges worldwide.
In an interview with McKinsey’s Vijay D’Silva and Roberta Fusaro, Nasdaq president and CEO Adena Friedman explains where the company has been in its first five decades and where it’s going—specifically, how it’s pursuing growth and innovation, how it manages its role as both user and provider of data, and how it’s thinking about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, all while remaining relevant to investors worldwide.
READ MORE