In 2024 so far, a16z has backed more than 20 AI startups working within disruptive categories. For example, this year, it has invested in several AI-driven copilots and agents designed to automate key workflows in big industries like healthcare and finance. It has also turned its attention to multimedia generation startups expediting the creation of a wide variety of content, from images to videos to audio.

While championing AI’s advancement, the firm also acknowledges associated risks — its founders are proponents of open-source models, arguing that their transparency and accessibility will help ensure that AI is developed in a secure and ethical way. So far this year, the two largest a16z-backed AI deals have gone to open-source large language model (LLM) developers xAI and Mistral AI.

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It’s estimated that robots and other smart machinery will make up as much as one-third of US military presence in the next 15 years, according to Mark Milley, a retired US Army General and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Unmanned systems already dominate in some areas — like aerial drones — while significant development is underway in bringing autonomous tech to the ground, ocean surface, and underwater domains.

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Beyond relevance to government agencies, IQT’s investment activity has historically pointed to next-gen technologies that have the potential to be developed for use beyond the public sector.

IQT has participated in over 50 disclosed deals since the beginning of 2022, with many of its investments falling into areas categorized as “deep tech” — cutting-edge technologies rooted in scientific or engineering advances, such as biotech and quantum computing.

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The company has faced multiple high-profile incidents over the past 6 years — including crashes involving its planes and a fuselage blowout. This series of events has resulted in a decline in consumer trust, aggravated airlines, and lost sales to rival Airbus.

Amid these challenges, Boeing has shaken up its corporate leadership and moved to improve its manufacturing quality. For instance, the company is exploring a reintegration with Spirit AeroSystems to help address production flaws.

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New possibilities have emerged thanks to the proliferation of satellite launches — with SpaceX alone conducting a record 98 launches during 2023 — combined with the affordability of drones and advancements in imaging technologies.

This progress opens opportunities for startups and incumbents, helping expand geospatial use cases and capabilities across industries like agriculture, automotive, construction, defense & national security, insurance, manufacturing, mining, oil & gas, and more.

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Despite equity funding to the space dropping 39% YoY to $41B in 2023, deal counts actually ticked up 4% to over 2,700. This was driven by an increase in early-stage deals, which represented 69% of all deals in 2023 — up from 55% in 2022.

To see where climate tech is heading in 2024, we looked at the tech markets with the most early-stage investment activity in 2023:

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Expanding its reach in telecom could enable the company to own not only the content and services it delivers, but also the delivery method itself. Bundling internet access with popular services — such as its Prime membership or its smart home products — could give it a competitive edge over today’s standalone broadband networks and create stickiness with existing customers. It could also attract new customers needing reliable internet access. 

The move into telecommunications would also allow Amazon to collect more data from its customers, creating a flywheel effect with its advertising and retail businesses. 

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Companies offering weather risk intelligence solutions help organizations across industries — such as aerospace, agriculture, construction, government, insurance, and logistics — better assess and manage the risk of these weather events to ensure operational continuity and protect their assets. These solutions make use of AI, advanced analytics, and forecasting models, and they’re catching the eyes of investors.

Tomorrow.io recently raised an $87M Series E round after launching its second weather satellite into space. Five other weather intelligence companies — ClimateAi, Reask, Truweather Solutions, Salient, and PlanetIQ — have also raised funding in 2023 so far.

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For example, Astranis — a startup in the space — recently achieved a significant milestone by launching a low-cost satellite into geosynchronous orbit (which is much further out than Starlink’s constellation and normally requires significantly more expensive equipment to operate in) and successfully establishing a link to a remote part of Alaska.

In this brief, we look at the competitive landscape and assess the current state of the satellite market, focusing on:

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It is now cheaper than ever to send satellites into orbit, in part thanks to SpaceX‘s innovations, which have helped bring the price of launching rockets down by 10x vs. a decade ago.

At the same time, satellite technology continues to improve. Today’s satellites feature better imaging systems, more powerful sensors, and faster data processing than ever before.

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DroneUp, a leader in the drone delivery space, announced company layoffs last week. While the company attributes the cuts to its strategic shift toward the consumer market (and away from other services like mapping, photography, and surveying), it still signals some of the industry’s growing pains.

On the one hand, numerous startups have established major commercial partnerships — DroneUp, Zipline, and Flytrex have all inked deals with Walmart, for one — and a handful of players have recently secured significant funding.

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But soaring costs and regulatory uncertainty have prevented these companies from fully commercializing their solutions, even with consolidation in the space. Former market leader Argo AI even shut down in October, despite billion-dollar investments from Ford and Volkswagen.

Most recently, GM’s Cruise reported disappointing numbers, losing $561M in Q1’23 on $30M in revenue. The results fuel growing concerns around the viability of robotaxis.

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But the company’s interests extend far beyond aerospace — and many of its focus areas cut across industries. For instance, Lockheed has invested heavily in developing advanced manufacturing capabilities and is also quickly expanding its space-based communications offerings. Meanwhile, advances in AI and leveraging next-gen computer chips are also set to play key roles across many of its business lines.

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Gone are the days when governments were the only players involved in space exploration. In the last decade, private companies like Elon Musk-led SpaceX have driven dramatic declines in launch costs, fueling an explosion of activity: 2022 saw a record 180 rockets launch into orbit, with 61 coming from SpaceX.

Innovation and cost reduction in space tech have also unleashed new opportunities on Earth, from expanding internet access to redefining military operations. Competition is heating up, not only between aerospace players, but also from non-traditional players like Amazon, which recently got the green light from the FCC for its Project Kuiper satellite constellation.

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