Like any other industry in 2020, the tech industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, aspiring entrepreneurs have continued to work hard in bringing their ideas to life through tech startups. Whether you’re an investor or looking for an idea of your own, these are the types of tech startups you should be watching in 2021.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has rapidly been becoming important for many industries outside of tech. Through artificial intelligence, laboratories were able to automatically and quickly sort through all of the infection data they had about COVID-19. Startups are helping with artificial intelligence by creating software and hardware designed specifically for various industries so that businesses don’t have to tinker much with their data.
Self-Driving
For a long time, self-driving has seemed like a concept that’s a dream but realistically won’t happen in our lifetimes. Large companies like Tesla and Toyota are currently working on making full self-driving happen sometime in the next decade while some startups are working on what the future will look like with self-driving. An example of this is the startup Pony.ai, a company building an automatic taxi service that gets people to where they want without relying on a human driver.
Virtual Reality
Gamers have spent the last couple of decades getting immersed in virtual worlds through video-game franchises like Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, The Legend of Zelda, and more. Even with being able to control your character though, you always have some degree of separation in that you won’t be able to feel like you’re that character when you’re staring at a screen far away from your face. Virtual reality has been built to solve this issue through a headset that attaches to your face, making you feel like you’re really there. Gamers have slowly been adapting to this unique medium of video games through the release of consumer-grade VR headsets like the Oculus Quest.
The usage of virtual reality in video games is easy to see but some startups believe that virtual reality has its uses outside of video games. One startup, OculAR, is working on adapting virtual reality to other purposes through the creation of their own virtual reality headset. With this headset, people can receive a headset through the mail that they put on at home to get an eye exam without having to go into a doctor’s office.