AI outlined 2024 — kind of. The pace and accessibility of AI instruments made additional inroads into on a regular basis tech lives because the hype round generative synthetic intelligence know-how lastly began to settle. Not even politics was spared, as AI-generated memes flooded social media through the US presidential elections. It was additionally the yr that noticed the rise of recent tech gamers, whereas the outdated guardians started to take a backseat, unable to adapt to the change.
Because the world strikes towards a extra regulated surroundings amidst chip wars and governments dictating phrases, the query stays: can tech firms nonetheless innovate, particularly as antitrust legal guidelines develop stronger and extra rules come into place?
Listed below are the largest winners and losers within the tech world in 2024.
Winners
Nvidia’s emergence
2024 was the yr of Nvidia — each as a tech firm and as a inventory. The corporate’s rise might have come as a shock to many, however Nvidia had been performing effectively for years, even when Wall Road solely recognised its potential through the AI gold rush. Nvidia designs graphics processing models (GPUs), which have turn into the spine of AI infrastructure, making them superb for coaching giant language fashions (LLMs) and operating AI inference. Demand for GPUs is primarily pushed by large-scale tech firms equivalent to Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta, in addition to well-funded startups like OpenAI and Elon Musk-backed xAI, all racing to create essentially the most highly effective AI fashions. This is the reason Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell GPUs are experiencing unprecedented demand.
Furthermore, progress isn’t anticipated to decelerate anytime quickly, as Nvidia’s greatest prospects plan to spend billions of {dollars} constructing knowledge centres to help the anticipated surge in AI demand. Specialists imagine Nvidia has been the primary beneficiary of the synthetic intelligence growth, with shares up about 150 per cent year-to-date, propelling its market cap to exceed $3 trillion, becoming a member of the ranks of Apple and Microsoft. Nvidia’s chief govt, Jensen Huang, is assured that AI can be tech’s subsequent large growth. Nonetheless, the corporate’s continued success is determined by whether or not the huge investments made by tech giants in the end translate into income, and whether or not generative AI will turn into mainstream as anticipated by the trade. Solely time will inform.
Bluesky’s rise
It was an invite-only social platform till it opened to the general public in February, and by the tip of the yr, the micro-blogging web site had turn into the fastest-growing social platform, with a consumer base of effectively over 25 million as of December 2024. Its decentralised mannequin, easy-to-use interface, and user-first insurance policies helped Bluesky entice each new customers and people migrating from X. Whereas Bluesky’s consumer base stays a fraction of its rivals, its enchantment to journalists, politicians, and activists performed a big function within the platform’s progress.
Bluesky has ambitions to surpass X by creating a brand new customary — what it calls “a protocol for public dialog.” Though Bluesky is trying to reimagine how a social platform works and is working towards interoperability, it stays to be seen whether or not the corporate can maintain its rising consumer base whereas protecting the platform open and free from bias.
An enchancment in AI instruments and platforms
It was the yr when Apple rolled out its AI suite of options, dubbed Apple Intelligence, and, effectively, it wasn’t a clean journey. Nonetheless, 2024 actually belonged to Google and OpenAI, as each firms saved everybody on their toes with back-to-back AI releases and new fashions. Whereas final yr served extra as a precursor to AI and its potential, this yr noticed purposes and options turn into extra sensible and useful.
AI nonetheless stays within the experimental section, a undeniable fact that tech firms didn’t try to cover. Options like Gemini in Gmail, which helps refine content material, or in Docs, the place it might probably summarise recordsdata and folders, make AI really feel prefer it’s genuinely making an attempt to be helpful. Nonetheless, OpenAI’s GPT stays the gold customary, providing capabilities starting from reasoning to coding at your disposal. It’s beginning to really feel like AI isn’t simply hype however a helpful software, though its utilization nonetheless largely is determined by customers and varies case by case.
Meta’s Ray-Bans channel ‘AI’
If there was one machine that deserved to be named Gadget of the Yr, it needed to be Meta’s Ray-Ban sensible glasses. Whereas they aren’t VR or AR glasses, Meta didn’t ever attempt to market them as such, and that’s what labored in favour of the Ray-Bans. These sensible glasses turned the type of on a regular basis glasses customers might need to put on: light-weight, sensible, modern, fashionable, and accessible (beginning at $299, if not precisely cheap). These Ray-Bans include digicam and audio options however don’t have shows. A bonus was the AI options, which, evidently, genuinely work.
As Meta continues to push new generative AI capabilities and software program updates, the glasses are solely getting higher. It wouldn’t be unsuitable to say that Meta did what Apple managed to do again within the day with the iPod. The iPod wasn’t only a music participant however a tool that showcased how software program drives {hardware}. Meta has one thing comparable: these are glasses first, cameras and headphones second, and AI is the software program — a primary step towards experiencing generative synthetic intelligence.
Losers
AI-first gadgets have been doomed to fail
The failure of the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 highlights the failings within the mindset of making consumer-oriented synthetic intelligence gadgets when AI can already be skilled on smartphones with out compromise. Each gadgets have been over-hyped and projected as the start of a brand new wave of merchandise, designed from the bottom as much as reap the benefits of AI. Nonetheless, neither machine stood out — not as a result of they have been unhealthy, however as a result of the thought of AI-first gadgets was flawed.
Humane, a Star Trek-like gizmo — a chest-worn, screen-less machine — was a much bigger failure. The machine had overheating points from day one, was overpriced, and lacked compelling options. Rabbit R1, then again, might have been only a smartphone app, and the {hardware} made no sense. Though these AI “communicator” gadgets gave the impression of a fantastic thought on paper, the precise gadgets have been subpar, and the aim behind them by no means absolutely clarified what they have been making an attempt to realize. In actuality, these AI gadgets tried to interchange smartphones, and that was the largest mistake.
Intel’s ‘quick-fix’ didn’t assist clean return
With an abrupt sacking of the CEO, hundreds of job cuts, the ‘AI PC’ barely making an affect on the PC market, and shedding out to Nvidia — Intel has had one of many worst occasions in tech. The veteran semiconductor heavyweight has reached some extent the place it’s shedding out to the competitors and is now not forward of the technological pack, having missed the AI transition.
Intel will survive (for now), and authorities subsidies from the CHIPs Act, together with investments from hedge funds like Brookstone and Apollo, which have invested within the foundry enterprise, will assist. Intel is now reeling from the lack of Apple as a consumer and is beneath strain to compete with ARM-based computing chips from Qualcomm. Intel was as soon as the chief—however it’s now not the way forward for private computing.
Time up for low-end (sensible)watches and homegrown manufacturers
The smartwatch market was on fireplace, a phase that had seen roaring progress in India and probably made many homegrown firms and their co-founders land on actuality reveals like Shark Tank. Nonetheless, no one thought the once-booming smartwatch phase would nose-dive, and the market by no means appeared to return to its earlier excessive. This occurred in India, the second-largest wearables market after China.
Every quarter noticed a decline in smartwatches, particularly these within the low-end phase. There was a time when customers rushed to retail shops and on-line to purchase smartwatches, largely white-labelled however bought as branded and accessible at very reasonably priced costs. This continued for 2 to a few years, however customers quickly realised that the smartwatches they purchased have been substandard and barely had any sensible options in-built.
The dearth of innovation, together with the truth that firms like Noise and boAt, which made a reputation for themselves within the home market, have turn into extra of merchants than precise tech firms, highlights as soon as once more how Indian firms wrestle to compete with US-based tech giants. This time, nonetheless, they will’t shift blame to Chinese language firms and play the sufferer. In any case, these home firms did promote smartwatches within the hundreds of thousands however did not create a compelling product that might compete with smartwatches from Apple and Garmin.
CrowdStrike outage
One occasion that shook the whole world and jolted the aviation trade, particularly, was the worldwide CrowdStrike outage. A defective software program replace from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike disrupted computer systems operating Microsoft Home windows, resulting in the cancellation of flights for days and the suspension of journey for hundreds of thousands of passengers. The outage was so large that it was deemed the biggest IT outage in historical past. Not solely did it dent CrowdStrike’s popularity, but it surely additionally tarnished Microsoft’s picture.
The CrowdStrike outage was a big lesson for the tech trade. This incident highlighted how defective software program may cause main disruptions to vital laptop methods. It additionally uncovered cracks within the inner testing processes for software program updates earlier than they’re rolled out. Maybe extra importantly, this IT outage raised severe questions on how well-protected our methods are towards cybersecurity threats.
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