Centric IT is a Deeptech company that, in partnership with Romanian Universities, works on projects that use the specific technologies listed below.
Deep tech (deep tech) or hard tech is a classification of organization or, more commonly, a startup company, with the expressed objective of providing technological solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges. They present challenges that require lengthy research and development and large capital investments before successful commercialization. Their main risk is technical risk, while market risk is often significantly lower due to the clear potential value of the solution to society. The underlying scientific or engineering problems that are solved by deep tech and hard tech companies generate valuable intellectual property and are difficult to replicate.
The term deep tech has been around for decades, representing the research and development divisions of major defense and telecommunications corporations such as Raytheon Technologies, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, and Bell Labs, in its more modern definition that increasingly includes much venture capital companies. ecosystem. The word does not refer to innovation per se, but to a category of startup companies that develop new products based on "significant scientific discovery or engineering innovation."
According to 2019 research by Boston Consulting Group and Hello Tomorrow, a French non-profit organization that supports deep technology, the most important areas of deep technology included advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blockchain, robotics, photonics, electronics and quantum. computing. Global private investment in these areas has grown by more than 20% per year since 2015 and reached nearly $18 billion in 2018. Possible areas for deep technology application include agriculture, life sciences, chemistry, aerospace and green energy. In the business context, deep technology has three key attributes: potential for impact, long time to market-ready maturity, and substantial capital requirements.
Deep technological innovations are often radical and can create new markets or disrupt existing ones. Deep tech companies often tackle big societal and environmental challenges and have the potential to impact everyday life. Silicon chips are an example of an innovation that enabled computing at a previously unimaginable speed and scale.
The time required to move from basic science to applicable technology in deep technology exceeds the development time of startups based on widely available technology ("shallow technology", such as mobile applications, websites and services electronic commerce). For example, the technology behind artificial intelligence took decades to develop, and now AI companies are developing rapidly in many fields. According to Hello Tomorrow, as of 2019 it took an average of four years to reach the biotech market and 2.4 years in blockchain.
The demand for huge early-stage funding for R&D and prototyping and the long life cycle of deep tech startups forces them to abandon the established funding progression from friends and family to angel and seed money, Series A and rounds further leading to commercial sale or IPO.
Funding for deep tech companies has grown over the years. According to the Boston Consulting Group, total investment in deep tech companies increased from $1.7 billion to $7.9 billion from 2011 to 2016. Investment activities are concentrated in the United States and China, which totaled about 81% of global private investment in deep tech from 2015 to 2018, with approximately $32.8 billion and $14.6 billion invested in each country, respectively. China acts as the main driver of deep tech investment, with funding growing by 80% each year during that period, compared to 10% each year in the US. European countries are also active in investing in deep tech. According to the Financial Times, in 2017, total funding for deep tech companies reached around €3 billion in 600 deals.
Corporations such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Apple are showing increased interest in deep technology applications in AI, virtual reality, drones, autonomous cars. Business accelerators are also shifting their focus from digital startups to deep tech ventures. In the 2016 batch of Y Combinator there were 32 deep tech startups, including 9 in biotech, 4 in drones and 3 in advanced hardware. The startup accelerator HighTechXL in Eindhoven focuses exclusively on deep tech projects.
Article source: Wikipedia
