My 10 Startup predictions for 2023

1. Funding: The decline, especially for late stage startups, will continue but it will slow down. Some active investors will make deals with great terms. We will unfortunately see a bigger wave of bankruptcies across the ecosystem but also a lot of consolidation and M&A activities.

2. AI, Sustainability & Biotech: Will continue to get a lot of attention in 2023 AND a lot of funding. AI because with all chatGTP noise we get a glimpse of what is already possible today. We will see more great things in this space but I believe mass adoption and broad impact on people will still not happen this year.

Sustainability startups will continue to grow, well because we have to do more in this space,?I just hope the Carbon?topic will not overshadow all the other important?areas in sustainability. Biotech will have a revival as AI opens up a lot of more opportunities for innovation.

3. Startup?Regions: UK will continue?to bleed dry due to the Brexit mess they have created, more talent and startups will leave UK due to all the uncertainties. Due to its central location Paris will become even more THE Startup Hub in Europe (just a train ride to London, Amsterdam, Germany, Spain, Switzerland). Also it will be interesting to see if the new government will have any effect on the great startup nation Israel.

4. Web3 & Co: Cryptocurrencies will see some recovery due to an ongoing washout of fraud/fake businesses but it will stay far away from the all time highs. Metaverse and NFT will be, luckily or hopefully, less talked about in the media.

5.?Real world problems: African startups will continue to lead the way and grow in areas like AGtech or Health as many startups are solving real problems and more importantly they tend to be a lot more frugal than let's say startups in the bay area, more people will recognize that.

6. Layoffs: There will be more layoffs from big tech and many startups. The crazy days are over. This will create a wave of great talents looking for the next big thing. The sustainability ecosystem will benefit a lot from it as a lot of more people look for jobs with a purpose.

7.?Employee perks and wellbeing: All the uncertainties will have negative effects for areas like mental health, remote working etc. Employers are again in a stronger position and will 'focus' more on core business growth. Elon Musk's extreme decisions at Twitter will not happen everywhere but he unfortunately has an influence in tech. Though this is a great opportunity for startups to differentiate themselves from big tech companies to?hire great talent.

8. Diversity: Last year already looked very bleak for female founders, black founders etc. - this year it will be even worse with?all the tight pockets from investors - yes it is hard to imagine that it could get even worse.

9. Consumption: We will see an overall decline in consumption especially in Retail but also in areas like Travel etc. Inflation, layoffs but also sustainability?reasons will impact behaviors and make it harder for businesses to grow.

10. Consequences of wars and tensions: Will continue and have more disastrous effects on many people in a lot of places around the world, not only Ukraine. Ethiopia, Myanmar or the tensions between China and Taiwan/US, Kosovo and Serbia and others give a gloomy outlook that?no one can escape from, obviously especially for those in the conflict zones but also for those outside via supply chain issues, sanctions etc. This uncertainty will make it also harder for startups to grow. I really hope some of the crazy conflicts can be resolved this year.