Preparing the Ground for 2024: A Thematic Recap of the Latest Deep Tech Trends - Part 1
Highlighting the Industrial and Technological Shifts in 10 Strategic Sectors...
The innovation landscape in 2023 was all about dynamism and rapid changes, making the start of this 2024 a prime time to circle back to some key data and trends.
As we step into this year, we've focused our efforts on crafting a targeted analysis to examine key events within the context of the technological and industrial transition of 2023, aiming to provide a robust foundation to navigate the challenges and opportunities that 2024 is set to throw our way.
With this goal in mind, we've taken a thematic lens to scan the 2023 horizon, focusing on 10 key sectors, selected based on comprehensive industry reports and discussions with influential experts in the Deeptech scene.
We have decided to cluster our first five thematic areas in this way: Energy & Climate, AI & Robotics, Semiconductors & Quantum Computing, Space Industry, and Food & Watertech.
The goal is to offer a thematic recap of the past year's highlights, establishing a foundation for the exciting year ahead.
Ready to go?
2023: A Year of Innovation Resilience
Throughout 2023, technological and industrial innovation experienced a period of intense evolution, marked by breakthrough moments and new challenges.
Despite economic pressures, a certain volatility in public markets, and a scarcity of liquidity in private capital markets, we've seen an unprecedented push toward the adoption and development of advanced technologies.
AI remained the undisputed protagonist, catalyzing investments and debates on a global scale, while Deep Tech startups captured attention for their innovative and competitive solutions, capable of addressing complex problems in key sectors like energy, health, and sustainability.
2023 also witnessed a significant shift in companies' attitudes towards innovation.
During the financial crisis of 2009, only 58% of companies planned to increase spending on innovation, and nearly 15% expected to reduce it. However, in 2023, a growing number of companies began to recognize the benefits of innovation, with 79% placing it among their top three priorities, a 15 percentage point increase from 2009. Remarkably, 66% of companies expect to increase their spending on innovation, with 42% anticipating an increase of more than 10%. This trend occurs despite the uncertain economic landscape, suggesting a strong expectation that companies will ramp up spending on key innovation enablers, even in the face of a potential economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions continued to escalate, raising questions about the future of globalization and its ability to reduce global poverty.
In this context, sustainable and inclusive growth became more urgent, prompting organizations to restructure for the digital era and to reconsider their approach to talent and inclusivity. This required, in some cases, a complete transformation of businesses, especially in relation to the energy transition, an increasingly pressing issue.
Furthermore, by tracking patents, we can gain a macroscopic view of how innovations have been distributed across industrial sectors and regions.

It's clear that the pharmaceutical sector is leading the way in innovation in the Americas, followed by information technologies. This underscores a trend of an America that continues to press hard on the accelerator of digital and health innovation, sectors that have proven essential not just for technological progress, but also in addressing global challenges like public health.
In the Asia-Pacific region, countries like China, Japan, and Korea are showcasing their traditional strength in the electronics sector. This reflects their long history of excellence and innovation in this field, which continues to play a pivotal role in the global economy.
Meanwhile, in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), we see chemicals and semiconductors taking the forefront, highlighting the importance of these sectors in an increasingly interconnected and complex technological innovation landscape.
Throughout all this, academia remains an indispensable source of innovation.
Universities and institutions in countries ranging from the United States to China, and spanning France, Germany, and Korea, continue to be leaders in research and development, playing a key role in shaping the future of global innovation. This synergy between industry and academia is crucial for tackling the challenges of a rapidly evolving world and ensuring that innovation continues to be a driving force for human progress.
Explore the First 5 Trends