More than a hundred tech companies have just become World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers. This year’s group includes many of the leaders in robotics and cybersecurity, as well as other companies that use artificial intelligence, in order to make healthcare more accessible and also will offer financial access. Zimbabwe, El Salvador, and Ethiopia were represented for the first time. And many of these companies that are Technology Pioneers are led by women, around 30% to be more exact.
A lot of talent was gathered at the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers. Starting from healthcare, AI, to fintech. These professionals are bringing the entrepreneurial spirit to tackle some world problems.
The 2021 cohort of young and growing tech companies include “many future headline makers at the forefront of their industries which will facilitate workshops and high-level discussions for the pioneers over the next two years. The social innovators are selected for being cutting-edge players with “great potential to not only shake up their industries but offer real solutions to global problems,”
Susan Nesbitt, Head of the Forum’s Global Innovators Community
Some of the companies participating. Namely Ceretai, is helping some of the media companies to fight the stereotypes and representation gaps. They work to deal with these issues by analyzing diversity and equality. Another company from India named Banyan Nations is using technology to support climate solutions in India. Century Tech is using AI and neuroscience to personalize education.
Some of the 2021 Technology Pioneers Include Xanadu. We wrote a lot about them and their development. Namely, they recently got a $100 million investment for the development of a new quantum computer. They are a quantum company from Canada that is working on some major innovations in Quantum Machine Learning and have developed a photonic Quantum Computer.
PQshield is another quantum company that was one of this year’s Technology Pioneers. They are an UK company that works in the quantum sphere. Specifically in the field of quantum cryptography. Their total funding is estimated at $78 million.
Another company named FlexFinTx is working on building self-sovereign digital identities. With this, they aim to help more than 400 million Africans that do not have proper government identification.
Cambridge Industries from Ethiopia is focusing on creating a sustainable city infrastructure and is highly supporting waste-to-energy products.
One of the biggest challenges among startups is gender representation. And only 30% of the companies in the forum are led by women. The UAE, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and El Salvador were represented for the first time.
After their selection as Technology Pioneers, some of this year’s companies are going to join some impressive group of alumni that is filled with top players in the IT industry. They will join the likes of Airbnb, Mozilla, Google, Spotify, TransferWise, Twitter, and others.