Top tech stories of 2022 and questions for 2023

Climate tech, automation, healthcare emerged as bright spots amid Big Tech gloom   [view entire message](   A look back at 2022 and a look ahead to 2023 It’s been a topsy turvy-year for tech, to say the least. [Big Tech layoffs]( and the pull-back of VC funding were dominant stories clouding much of the tech landscape. The meltdown of the major tech stocks (Apple, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft) led to an industry-wide hiring slowdown, investor jitters, and something new to Silicon Valley: mass layoffs. What started as a slow burn grew into a full-fledged wildfire by November. Meta, Twitter, Stripe, Snap, Lyft, and Redfin are among the tech companies that axed more than 10% of their positions. An estimated [150k tech jobs]( were incinerated over the year. Meanwhile, for many upstarts the funding environment got as cold as a [crypto winter](. Investors pulled back in just about every arena, ending a years-long run of easy money and growth at any cost. Of course, it wasn’t all bad news. Read on below for our recap on the year's top innovations, growing industries, and jobs. ⌃ Trending The year’s top innovations Perhaps lost in doom-and-gloom headlines are the innovations tech companies managed to pull off this year that could lead to significant upgrades for humanity. Top innovations of the year, according to [MIT Technology Review]( include the end of the password and new synthetic data to better train AI. There were several key breakthroughs in energy, including iron-based batteries to improve the grid, decarbonizing factories, and practical fusion reactors. Healthcare companies, too, made progress with Covid variant tracking, AI for protein folding, and a Malaria vaccine. Climate tech, healthcare, and automation among year’s bright spots Though arenas like e-commerce and social media took a post-pandemic plunge this year, others like gaming, [healthtech]( and automation made headway. [Mobile mindfulness]( grew into a billion-dollar industry. [Climate tech]( emerged as one of the biggest winners. [Increased global attention]( to renewable energy, along with a collective race to achieve [net zero]( was a major [boon for EVs]( battery technology, and carbon capture. Progress was also made removing [plastic waste from the oceans](. Automation was another highlight, as companies progressed things like [robotic process automation]( (RPA), mobility-as-a-service, and [collaborative robots](. Stanford researchers call advancements in foundational machine learning models like GPT-3 a “paradigm shift.” Though, there’s increasingly recognition that AI bots [don’t always tell the truth]( and it can be hard to know when. Better benefits and home office view Despite a tough job market for [recent college grads]( experienced developers found themselves in high demand. Companies leaned into [redefining the workplace]( to attract and keep stars. They offered attractive salaries and creative new benefit offerings. Perks like [unlimited PTO]( and a four-day workweek became commonplace. So, too, did [mental health benefits]( and [home office stipends](. Return-to-office mandates, attractive job offers from competing employers, and revelations about better work–life balance motivated a “[record-breaking departure from jobs in a shockingly small window of time]( as one report put it. Amid this so-called Great Migration, [Black employees left]( toxic work environments to start their own companies. [Women founders]( also made strides in 2022 — though they still receive a tiny portion of overall VC funding, leaving plenty of work ahead in 2023. The top startups of 2022 angel.co/discover Last week, we released our list of the top 10 startups across 10 trending industries. See who made the list and read more about the startups that made large strides in 2022. [See our 10 of 10 list]( Questions for 2023 Some intriguing questions about what 2023 will hold are emerging, like: - Will [hall-monitor censors of social media]( shift their focus to AI? - Will AI produce anything weirder than [talking to dead relatives]( - Will [Alexa survive]( - Will humans [return to the moon]( - Will [self-driving cars]( happen? - Will [Snoop Dogg run Twitter]( We'll have to wait and see. ✓ Startups hiring now Forkable Using AI to help people eat better [Apply now]( Lekko The control panel for your business [Apply now]( Kunai Digital product agency working with Fortune 500 companies & unicorn startups for 20+ years [Apply now](   Help us spread the word: we'll pay you [$200]( for every friend you get hired through AngelList Talent! [Refer & Earn]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Wellfound Weekly 228 Park Ave S, PMB 40533 New York, NY 10003 [Unsubscribe]( | [Update preferences](