Next Big Things in Tech
Fast Company|Winter 2023-2024
FOR THE PAST YEAR, THE TECH WORLD and pretty much everyone else has been enraptured by generative AI.
MARK SULLIVAN, ROB PEGORARO, HARRY MCCRACKEN, JESSICA BURSZTYNSKY
Next Big Things in Tech

Innovations in large language models and chatbots continue to power progress in everything from fitness to edtech. But that's not to suggest that advancement is only being delivered via Al; as the 117 honorees in this year's Next Big Things in Tech show, improvements to blockchain platforms, data storage, and more are revolutionizing the economy.

Wiliot 

EXCELLENCE IN INNOVATION

MORE THAN A DECADE AFTER THE "INTERNET OF THINGS" EMERGED AS A SOLUTION TO ALL MANNER OF SUPPLY-CHAIN PROBLEMS, WILIOT HAS INTRODUCED ITS TINY SMART STAMPS THAT CAN BE ATTACHED TO NEARLY ANYTHING AND MAY FINALLY BRING THE IOT PROMISE TO FRUITION.

THE "INTERNET OF THINGS" MAY NO longer be the term du jour, in part because the idea failed to meet its original promise of connecting billions of dumb objects to the cloud in service of mitigating all manner of potential supply-chain disruptions. But IoT technology remains a key to confronting some of our biggest business and environmental challenges. Wiliot makes an inexpensive Bluetooth beacon tag that can be attached to everything from food to drugs to apparel, enabling real-time tracking of location and condition. The stamp-size tag - powered by radio waves in the environment - contains an Arm processor and a radio, and it continually sends signal data collected from its various sensors to the Wiliot cloud for analysis. The results can be viewed via an app. In one use case, a COVID vaccine maker affixed a Wiliot tag to its vials to make sure the vaccine remained cool enough to retain its potency. Wiliot recently introduced sensors that can monitor humidity levels, which could help protect a range of products, from produce to electronics.

This story is from the Winter 2023-2024 edition of Fast Company.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Winter 2023-2024 edition of Fast Company.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM FAST COMPANYView All
Orange Crush
Fast Company

Orange Crush

Y Combinator was designed to be a supercondensed version of Silicon Valley. Now that it's at full potency, can it maintain its outsider pose while being the ultimate insiders' network?

time-read
10+ mins  |
March - April 2024
10 TREND
Fast Company

10 TREND

FROM THE MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES | PLUS 606 HONOREES FROM ADVERTISING TO VIDEO

time-read
10+ mins  |
March - April 2024
THE WORLD'S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
Fast Company

THE WORLD'S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES

THE 1920S, WATER WENT INTO A GENERATOR, AND DC POWER CAME OUT. NOW ELECTRONS GO INTO A GENERATOR, AND INTELLIGENCE COMES OUT.\"

time-read
10+ mins  |
March - April 2024
Reimagining the ways we work and meet
Fast Company

Reimagining the ways we work and meet

AS BUSINESS LEADERS RETHINK THEIR REAL ESTATE FOOTPRINT, THEY'RE EMBRACING SMALLER, HIGH-QUALITY, AMENITY-RICH SPACES THAT ARE MORE FOCUSED ON HUMAN CONNECTION.” IN OTHER WORDS, CONVENE.

time-read
2 mins  |
March - April 2024
Hollywood
Fast Company

Hollywood

AI is going to transform Hollywood But it won't be the horror story everyone's afraid of.

time-read
7 mins  |
Winter 2023-2024
Chick-Fil-A's New Testament
Fast Company

Chick-Fil-A's New Testament

Boycotted for years by liberals - and now by conservatives, too - a christian-driven brand is trying to walk the narrow path toward growth. What happens next could be enlightening for businesses everywhere.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2023-2024
The Office You Want
Fast Company

The Office You Want

Business leaders want workers back. Workers are loath to resume their commutes. We asked five leading design firms to create plans that might make leaving home seem worthwhile.

time-read
8 mins  |
Winter 2023-2024
Fan With a Plan
Fast Company

Fan With a Plan

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin parlayed a ski shop in suburban Philly into a $31 billion sports apparel juggernaut. Now, he's adding trading cards, gambling, live events, and more.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2023-2024
The Helpful Hardware Man
Fast Company

The Helpful Hardware Man

Marques Brownlee has rewired the way people shop for gadgets-and how companies sell them. Inside the humble factory with the power to shape the $1 trillion consumer electronics industry.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2023-2024
PIZZA, ROBOTS, and MONEY
Fast Company

PIZZA, ROBOTS, and MONEY

THE ZESTY TALE OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST FLOPS IN SILICON VALLEY HISTORY

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2023-2024