by Puneet Pandit
01 Jan, 2024
It’s only a few days left before we end 2023 and start 2024 with big goals. The excitement is setting in and there’s a lot to say on what’s in store for us at Mirai Capital Global.
Since our fund announcement on Nov 29, I have had the privilege of meeting some of the best Fund managers and Industry leaders in the Silicon Valley, people who have built successful venture platforms, fund of funds, and remarkable companies with Billion Dollar valuations. I went into these meetings with key hypothesis on several fronts. Let me share some of these findings and insights here on the blog.
Disclaimer: Whatever I write below is part of an on-going discovery, so there will be changes and pivots along the way for sure.
As a global Investment Fund, there are multiple vectors for us to flush out, as follows:
Let me address the first one above in this blog. To focus on specific industry verticals, three questions will always remain pertinent to the selection criteria:
There are 3 core industries that came to the forefront through these discussions:
HEALTHCARE
Last 10 years has seen phenomenal growth in healthcare sector funding with 2021 as the bumper year recording over $86 Billion of VC investments worldwide across Biotech, Medtech, Healthcare IT and Services sub segments. Since the democratization of AI in last 12 months with LLM models, healthcare sector is now seeing another inflection curve of innovations to improve areas like new drug discovery and consumerization of patient care. The global healthcare AI market alone is projected to reach $45.2 billion by 2026 and is ripe for innovation in areas like predictive analytics, telemedicine, and automated workflows.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has further underscored the need for digital health solutions, amplifying the market's growth potential. Investing in healthcare IT and AI innovation not only promises high returns but also contributes to enhancing global health outcomes.
From UAE perspective, per UAE Health 2071 plan, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have emerged as two of the top 10 medical tourism destinations in the worldwide rankings. This is an emerging area of Experience Economy as well. From Genetics standpoint, the Emirati Genome Programme plans to sequence the genomes of 1 million Emirati citizen volunteers, the results of which will provide valuable data on population health and eventually lead to the development of personal gene therapy and precision medicine.
Overall, although life expectancy in developed nations including UAE has been increasing yet the burden of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, musculoskeletal diseases, and mental health issues is forcing Providers and Payors to reinvent their patient care practices. All these trends are providing immense opportunity to invest in groundbreaking ideas and teams to build next generation solution for the healthcare industry.
CLEANTECH
Global venture capital funding for clean energy startups jumped sixfold from $1.9 Billion in 2019 to $12.3 billion in 2022, propelled by investment in Cleantech 2.0 ventures, battery technology and new government subsidy schemes in the United States and Europe. Investors globally have been racing to fund more climate-friendly technologies as the world tries to shift towards a lower-carbon economy. Clearly, Cleantech is a mega growth sector for next 10-20 years as several countries race to meet the net zero emissions goal by 2050. Many global corporations have allocated specific funds towards their ESG initiatives. As a result, annual clean energy investments worldwide must more than triple to about $4 trillion by 2030.
There is a clear intersection of AI with Cleantech opportunities. Per recent UN Report on AI for Climate Action, in the near future, innovative adaptation technologies such as AI-powered models can provide early warning systems to alert communities about impending disasters. Agri-food systems and crop management can be optimized with AI predicting the best planting times, assessing soil health and monitoring pest and disease outbreaks. Renewable energy systems’ efficiency and reliability can be improved by AI algorithms that predict energy demand, optimize grid operations, and integrate renewable energy sources seamlessly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting a shift toward low-emission energy solutions.
From UAE perspective, At COP 28 summit in Dubai in December, a pledge was made by UAE to put $30 Billion in a new Clean Tech fund. The newly established fund was “specifically designed to bridge the climate finance gap” and stimulate further investment of $250 billion by 2030. The United Arab Emirates plans to triple its supply of renewable energy and invest up to $54 billion over the next seven years to meet its growing energy demands. This will also include investments in low-emission hydrogen fuel and developing infrastructure for electric vehicles.
FUTURE OF WORK (FOW)
The future of work describes changes in how work will get done over the next decade, influenced by technological, generational, and social shifts. Various calculations have placed spending on FOW at various amounts, with one last year estimating it at more than $1 Trillion spend by 2024.
AI will have a dramatic impact on the Future of Work opportunities. A McKinsey report, which analyzed over 2,000 work activities across 800 occupations, found that about 50% of all the tasks people perform at work have the potential to be automated and about 5% of all occupations could be 100% automated. These findings are also supported by similar studies conducted by the OECD and Brookings Institution among others.
From UAE perspective, FOW is a key enabler for future growth. As an example, per UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 report, the country is a globally competitive transit hub from logistics and supply chain perspective. Over 60 million people pass through Dubai Airport each year while 26 million through Abu Dhabi Airport. Jebel Ali port is the largest marine terminal in the Middle East and provides market access to over 2 billion people. There is a tremendous opportunity to make the most of these assets – facilitating test beds for new technologies in these locations, as a launchpad for other regions in EMEA, Asia and the US, by deploying AI solutions for air traffic management, baggage handling, and airplane boarding.
Stay tuned for more blogs on similar topics where the goal will be to outline our core Investment strategies and partner with some of the best entrepreneurial talent across the world.
Wish you all a safe and healthy new year in 2024!
