Change in the world of tech is driven by development. The new wave of innovative development has tech's iconic startups firmly in the driving seat. Who are the fresh thinkers and digital disruptors bringing us cutting-edge tech for the future? Here are 12 startups set to disrupt 2023 — the ones to watch.
Flexible work is becoming too commonplace a term, especially in the last three years that have seen us heading to hybrid team environments. Working solely from home proved to be too discouraging for many, while all-in-office is too distracting. No one missed the commute. It’s created demand for somewhere professional to work, such as co-working spaces but still close enough to home. Add to this, the energy crisis means that more folks will look to work outside home this winter.
Step up URBNX who offer a solution as the first independent digital marketplace that connects people with alternative workplaces, all in one app. Ditching the office suite and working closer to home is an attractive option, and the app allows those with spaces available to list those too, offering restaurants and cafes the chance to create an additional source of predictable revenue, maximizing space, especially during downtime. Founded by Italian Giovanni Peracin in 2021, URBNX is a startup that will continue to grow and is all set to disrupt 2023.
The sea of digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) is upon us and will make more waves in 2023. But it has been shown that AI-based systems will malfunction if they do not have the required quality of training data. Exponentially increasing volumes of data simply cannot be handled with a human approach to analysis. The world is moving faster than that.
Co-founders Dr Daniel Tapias and Nuria Gomez Bermejo, with over 55 years of experience between them, created Sigma AI to bring cutting-edge AI to automate processes and extract insights from your data — both structured and unstructured. They provide turnkey solutions across industries such as cybersecurity, healthcare, automotive and robotics from the U.S. to Latin America, Asia, Africa and the MIddle East.
Passwords and pins are dead. The future is biometrics. Headquartered in Oslo, Zwipe holds a strong position in the emerging biometrics payments market. Zwipe's value proposition? Seamless payment, access, IDs and wearables. No batteries required.
Trusted locally by leading global brands, Zwipe makes convenience safe and secure across industries and societies worldwide and continues to hold a strong position in the emerging markets, striding into 2023 and the future as the world's first Visa and Mastercard approved payments platform.
The last couple years has seen an acceleration in the “We don’t take cash.” But it used to be a large infrastructural investment to get set up with a traditional card machine that cost businesses a lot in fees. London-based SumUp is an exciting global financial technology company that allows sole traders and small businesses to accept payments anywhere, providing merchants with a dashboard to track and analyze sales.
With near omnipresence in London and making a big name across Europe, SumUp is on the up and up. Its founder, Marc-Alexander Christ, recently posted on LinkedIn about their massive new investment of over half a billion euros: “With this new capital, we will further expand our product suite to level the playing field for businesses of every shape and size around the world that require support now more than ever.”
After 10 successful years in business SumUp now plans to pay it forward, and is committed to pledge up to 1% of its revenue to the three E’s – entrepreneurship, education and the environment. The startup that is set to disrupt 2023 and beyond.
There’s a welcome movement to move as many citizen services online, to include more people. But how can it be done securely? Traditionally, the videoconferencing apps and technology we use are not aimed at securing the processes and all within them. CouncilBox — a Madrid-based legaltech startup — offers solutions including mechanisms for secure logins, logouts, traffic control and connectivity — all backed with the reliability of blockchain.
The main difference between CouncilBox and a meeting or meeting held on any other virtual platform is that it has legal backing, without the need for a notary. Also offered is a secure digital signature technology where verification is required, digital ID, and now an electronic voting module has been developed that will allow safe anticipated voting and proxy voting.
With clients such as Booking.com, Melia, the energy giant EiDF and the Spanish Ministry of Justice, it’s clear that CouncilBox will continue to expand and flourish, building a more inclusive 2023.
The digital world is accessible by all of us — and keeping our children safe while online has become a necessity. Created by parents for parents, SafeKiddo makes screentime safer, across schools, homes and businesses. Parents can track what their children are watching, and how much time they spend online, with this Polish startup founded by enterprise cybersecurity professional Marcin Marzec.
Controls from the parent’s device allow access limits and restrictions to be applied through the SaaS app service, payable in scaleable amounts depending on the number of devices/size of family. Taking families and their online safety into 2023 and the future.
“Motion can be described in eight dimensions — an inherent complexity that we solve to power transport.” And so the startup Meight was born. Road transport is a $5 trillion industry. The Meight API has transformed that industry, and uses data from drivers to assist them in spending and using less. Patented technology understands where energy consumption of road transport comes from, predicts it, and reduces it. The app can be used for driver onboarding and subsequent training.
The Portuguese-based startup raised a €1.3 million seed round for its patented technology and continues to drive future growth. Meight is definitely a one of the startups set to disrupt 2023.
San Francisco-based startup Direct Commerce moves companies toward a paperless source-to-pay environment (S2P). A long list of industries covered by its data-driven solutions include:
For the past two years the startup — founded by Bruce Hanavan — has been delivering its brand of customer-centric targeted software S2P solutions. We’re excited to help them take on Europe.
In 2015, the Portuguese startup Infraspeak secured €3 million, and in 2021 went onto close a €10 million funding round, co-led by Indico Capital and Knight Capital, and joined by existing investors Innovation Nest and Caixa Capital.
Where will 2023 take Infraspeak? The sky's the limit for this company who offer a fully integrated intelligent platform that collects, processes and analyses maintenance data to improve planning and decision making while helping operational teams execute on time and importantly, within budget. From preventive to reactive to automating the regular tasks of auditing and asset management, Infraspeak brings maintenance into the future.
Launched in Italy in 2017, Cyber Guru aims to transform the weak link in the cybersecurity defense chain: the human element. Its platform solutions provide training and learning using advanced multimedia learning techniques, and are aimed at those who do not have specialized roles in cybersecurity. Success story? In 2021 Cyber Guru secured a €3.6 million capital growth investment round led by Venture Capital manager P101 Sgr in co-investment with Spanish Venture Capital manager Adara Ventures. One to watch through 2023 and far into the future.
Who else should be included in our list as a startup set to disrupt 2023? With AI and blockchain technology as the biggest trends of the year, it would seem to make sense to build your startup around it. Keep a close eye on the trends and the success stories. SaaS has increased by 500% in the past seven years and is worth over $170 billion according to statistics. The impact of the SaaS revolution and disruptive startups will keep us interested into 2023 and for many more years to come.
Are YOU and your startup ready to disrupt 2023, too?
