One of the best parts of the annual Corporate Startup Stars Awards is sitting down with the heads of innovation from the world’s 50 most innovative companies and asking them about their plans. It is great insight into what is and isn’t working in the world of open innovation.

This is what we learnt this year (there is a more comprehensive report, here if you want more detail).

Throughout 2021, global news seemed to ricochet between the rapid spread of new iterations of COVID-19 and cyber criminality — both becoming increasingly creative and disruptive as they mutate in a battle for survival; both interlinked as cybercriminals profit from rapid digitalization forced by COVID-19 lockdowns. In a recent interview, a prominent cybersecurity executive pointed out that alongside birth, death and taxes, the only other guarantee in our current lives is the exponential growth of digital threats.

The deadly consequences of climate change only grew clearer this year, as record-shattering heat waves, floods, and wildfires killed thousands and strained the limits of our disaster responders.

In the closing days of 2021, scientists warned that the eastern ledge of a Florida-size glacier is about to snap off of Antarctica and US legislators found they may have flubbed their best chance in a decade to enact sweeping climate policies.

As cases of the coronavirus surge with the new omicron variant continuing to spread following the holidays, your chances of being exposed to someone with the virus have likely increased. But when might symptoms first appear following a potential exposure?

Some years ago, sustainability and innovation were not really considered in the same sentence – many technological innovations have had, and still have, a negative impact on the environment. More recently however, with a climate crisis in tow as well, it has become widely agreed that sustainable innovation will change the world and that it is decisive for improving the environment we live in. 

That is why there is a growing need to develop technologies that are sustainable. 

Image: https://techthelead.com

Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road; here's — actually, never mind. Let the car do its thing; you're busy reading JD Supra's recap of some of the most popular updates, commentary, and analysis to do with driverless cars published during 2021:

California is suffering a major demographic reversal, one that threatens both the state’s economic future and the durability of its progressive model.

The numbers speak for themselves: The Golden State’s population has started declining for the first time, with new data from the state Department of Finance showing a population loss of 173,000 for the year ended July 1, 2021—a number that includes more than 56,500 pandemic related deaths, mostly of older Californians.

Startup investors tell me they invest in a new venture with a higher caliber of people, rather than the product or service, and I agree. In my role as a business advisor, I see successful businesses most often emerging from great teams rather than great products. Yet I find the people building teams are usually product experts, often with no experience in team building.

Innovation is the key to a successful business, but it shouldn’t be the responsibility of a specific individual or group. Every team member has the potential to become an entrepreneur, after all, and it’s up to their employers to fuel this ambition. The payoff of this startup mindset will almost inevitably be new products and services that drive incremental revenue, and can even disrupt an entire industry, as well as an enhanced company culture.

This past year we watched every organisational process and system come into question, as digital transformation became a critical strategic priority for India’s enterprises. In fact, Gartner finds that ICT spending in India is forecast to total $101.8 billion in 2022, an increase of 7% from 2021. As I look back at 2021, almost every sector of India’s digital economy witnessed a multifold growth during the year.

Image: https://www.financialexpress.com

Two-dose primary regimen of NVX-CoV2373 demonstrated cross-reactive immune responses against Omicron (B.1.1.529) and other variants

Third dose produced increased immune responses comparable to or exceeding levels associated with protection in Phase 3 clinical trials, with a 9.3-fold IgG rise and a 19.9-fold ACE2 inhibition increase after booster dose

Immune responses in adolescents were 2- to 4-fold higher than adults against broad array of variants of interest and variants of concern

Development of Omicron-specific vaccine on track for initiation of GMP manufacturing in early January Company to host investor conference call today from 4:30 – 5:00 pm ET

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Dec. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced initial data evaluating the immune response of its COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, against the Omicron variant as well as additional data from its ongoing Phase 2 boost study. New results demonstrate broad cross-reactivity against Omicron and other circulating variants from a primary 2-dose regimen, with responses that increased following a third dose at six months.

Like any industry, venture capitalism is “a shifting landscape with ebbs and flows, though to be fair, it hasn’t really ‘ebbed’ lately,” according to a blog post by US Fintech Unicorn Brex.

The VC industry has seen tremendous growth during the past few years—one that’s “influenced how founders pursue venture funding, the typical deal sizes they receive, and how VC firms choose which startups they fund,” the blog post from Brex noted.

Fundraising is brutal. Actually, according to Paul Graham of Y-Combinator fame, “Raising money is the second hardest part of starting a startup. The hardest part is making something people want.” More startups may fail for that reason, but a close second is the difficulty of raising money.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

Sweden, Norway and Denmark have topped the World Economic Forum’s latest Energy Transition Index (ETI).

Marking the 10th anniversary of the index, the Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2021 report highlights the progress being made around the world to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation – at a time when more than 770 million people still lack reliable access to electricity.

Mark Goldberg knows how much the venture capital market has changed in recent years. A partner at Index Ventures, Goldberg remembers the days when investors would meet up on Monday mornings to sip cappuccinos, pore over pitch decks and dig into due diligence. But in today’s record-breaking market, things look a little different. At his firm, lengthy investor meetings have been replaced with blocked calendar slots in case a partner has to sign a last-minute term sheet quickly. “The whole way that we have organized has changed to adapt to the market, '' Goldberg says. “Now capital is on demand. You can get a round done in 24 hours from a traditional VC fund and a host of new entrants.”

I tell entrepreneurs that Google was an “exception” to all the investment and startup rules, but I’ve always wondered what it takes to be an exception. Since every business is built by unique individuals, I’m totally convinced that exceptional people are the key to an exceptional company.

What a month it was for robotics. Whether it was China revealing its five-year plan for robotics dominance or Toronto banning sidewalk robots, there was no shortage of robotics stories to cover in December 2021.

Here are the Top 10 most popular robotics stories on The Robot Report in December 2021. Subscribe to The Robot Report Newsletter to stay updated on the robotics stories you need to know about.

Image: https://www.therobotreport.com

In this era of technology, AI has created a visible impact on almost every business sector available in this world and the automotive industry is no exception. Autonomous cars or self-driving cars are gradually gaining popularity worldwide. Several semi-autonomous driving systems like lane assist, adaptive cruise control (ACC), electronic stability control (ESC), rear-view video systems (RVS), adaptive highlights, forward collision mitigation (FCM), automatic emergency braking (AEB), and many others are already on the road. Days are not far when we will witness fully autonomous cars moving on the busy roads of our city.

We tend to spend some of our time in contemplation around the turn of the year, especially this year. Before we begin our innovation plans for 2022, I’d like to talk about the role that hands play in innovation.

Just as people like to look at real estate property sites like Funda when they are not looking for a house, I like to look at job vacancies when I am not necessarily looking for a job. Vacancies about innovation are almost always accompanied by the word ‘digital’. For me, that’s the moment to switch off. I want to create for, and with, physical reality, not virtual reality.

Image: https://innovationorigins.com

Bitcoin is not only the trendsetter, there are many other top cryptocurrencies that are built on a decentralized peer-to-peer network, but also has become the de facto standard for most of the investors in the crypto market. Cryptocurrencies are almost always designed to be decentralized as they have grown more popular for this very reason. While some of the cryptocurrencies may have some features that can overtake Bitcoin in the coming years. Let’s see a few of them in this article.

Image: https://www.analyticsinsight.net