Thread by @abarrera

I just finished reviewing this year's thousands of startups for @south_summit 2021. Here are some key takeaways and trends I'm observing (a thread) 👇 (RT if valuable and feel free to suggest any category I'm missing, which I undoubtedly will)

1/ Covid has had an obvious impact on certain verticals with a marked increase of startups in telemedicine, remote education, remote work, or air quality control systems.

2/ The tide of idiotic uses for Blockchain receded. Many good startups using Blockchain tech but mentioning it as an afterthought which is great. A few NFT things, but I'm guessing the flood will come in next year.

3/ A lot of new startups in the Proptech space, either in construction tech or sensor deployment for intelligent real estate management. Not too many 360º AR bullshit, instead, some serious 3D/Laser scanning stuff.

4/ Slow but steady increase of Deep Tech companies in many different categories including Space Tech (one of my favorite!).

5/ Plenty of AI-powered startups (most to be honest), but an appreciated trend around startups supporting the AI needs of companies including synthetic data creation or AI inference/training optimization.

6/ The edTech sector got super charged but most of the startups look exactly the same: we do remote learning, AI based, Neuroscience bla bla, providing soft skills, etc. I see too many people in this vertical selling benefits with ZERO research or data to support their claims.

7/ HR got turbocharged too due to Covid. Two sides of the coin: great startups providing up-skilling and re-skilling services. On the other hand, plenty deploying really invasive controlling mechanisms to check remote work performance.

8/ HR(2): There is a clear trend of startups that help locating qualified freelancers to hire on a project base and/or qualified hires based on soft skills and behavioral patterns and not just "CV".

9/ Massive explosion around Sustainability and SDGs. Startups helping manage your SDG goals, providing Carbon credit projects, etc. Many copycats and not enough differentiation right now. It will change soon enough.

10/ A quasi disappearance of smart mobility projects (mostly eScooter BS). They got substituted with plenty of startups focus on EVs and the electrification infrastructure.

12/ Slight increase around cybersecurity startups. Still not massive, but gaining momentum year after year. I wished we had more because it's becoming a critical aspect for society.

13/ Fintech got plenty of startups as always, many of them very good and catering to all sides of the spectrum. Slight increase in new authentication/KYC methods including advanced biometrics or Zero-Knowledge Proof systems.

14/ Slowly but steadily I'm seeing more bio/nanotech startups commercializing their technology and applying it to advanced materials for constructions. Mostly related to reduced CO2 footprints.

15/ A surprising amount of startups working on Direct Air Capture (DAC) of Carbon. Some of them with very smart ideas on how to make it sustainable.

16/ In terms of geography, I saw VERY good startups coming from Africa, a sustained trend during these past few years which contrasts with the decrease in projects from Latam. Also increased projects from the US, South Korea, and the SEA region.

17/ Ahh nearly forgot, some powerful startups in the AgroTech vertical with robust and mature precision agriculture systems (which are hard to scale) as well as many vertical farms tech.

18/ Very few startups in the Autonomous Vehicles (AV) field, as well as a substantial reduction on drone-based solutions. The ones I saw are actually solid drone solutions with a proven track record (and some VTOL ones).

19/ In terms of Telemedicine I saw two big groups, those that provide remote diagnostics to specific questions, and a set of more advanced ones that try to bring a Quantify Self environment to patients and provide real-time monitoring with smart alarms.

20/ I'm sure I'm missing some verticals so feel free to ask me about them. I hope this provides a good perspective and I hope I see you all in person in this year's @south_summit :)