Dec 14, 2021 7:00 AM

Tech’s Center of Gravity is Shifting Away From Silicon Valley

Covid-19 has spurred the demand for products and services that fit the needs of people from across the world.

Silicon Valley has always been one of the primary destinations for technological product development, leadership and the funding needed to power it, but if Covid-19 has taught us one thing, it’s that the center of gravity for the tech sector is shifting.

The next billion people that come online will be from emerging markets, and the success of the platforms they engage with will rest on how they empower, inspire and create personal and professional value at pace with that online access. In 2022, there will be increased geographic distribution of the leaders behind global technological innovation, leading to global services, brands and products that better serve everyone.

The pandemic was a forcing function in this arena. Everyone had to contend with an unprecedented disruption to health, supply chains, business and general mobility. It became increasingly clear as it unfolded that there would be no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges that surfaced. The needs by market have varied, based on resources, timing, infrastructure and the social and political trends found there.

In India, a desperate shortage of oxygen, medical supplies and access to health infrastructure earlier this year forced people to find creative solutions to a life-threatening problem. Through platforms such as Twitter, people mobilised, connecting those seeking help with those who could provide it. Developers jumped in, building innovative apps in a matter of days leveraging the open Twitter API to make it easier for people to seek oxygen, locate volunteers to verify whether hospitals had beds available and even connect people to food supplies.

For the future of product development, it means we will see the feature sets and offerings of global products and services become more tailored to fit the needs of people from across the world. Product leaders working, testing and building in their own communities means there will be more opportunity to incorporate the needs, perspectives and experiences of the places in which they live.

An algorithm with language dependencies built in an emerging market where there is diversity in languages, culture, access and infrastructure requires a more diverse set of data at the outset. This means that the underlying systems are more adaptable, less prone to bias and more relevant globally. The lived experiences of teams building a product has an impact on the development process and final outcome.

While the pandemic swiftly ushered us in this direction, the shift in how and where money is being invested is evidence of its staying power in 2022 and beyond. Global venture capital is trending toward record levels, up 157 per cent over the same period last year, with $156.2 billion (£116bn) invested in the second quarter of 2021, according to a report by CB Insights, an analytics firm. More recently, we saw Dailyhunt and short-form video app Josh, all based in Bangalore, raise $450 million from some top global investors. The examples are plentiful.

Decentralization in tech innovation promises more inclusion, less bias and better product fit for everyone. In 2022, we will see an inflection point. There will be those who rush to return to the rigid and barrier-presenting models that centred power and decision making in space-based headquarters, and those who seize the opportunity unlocked by distributed work, learning and leadership from across the globe. My personal bet is on those who put their investment in the latter.

Get more expert predictions for the year ahead. The WIRED World in 2022 features intelligence and need-to-know insights sourced from the smartest minds in the WIRED network. Available now on newsstands, as a digital download, or you can order your copy online.