New at Red Chalk Blog
A collection of stories about our industries, capabilities, research, and the evolution of our firm.
Hotel operators are shifting their focus to sustainability initiatives. While price remains the primary decision factor for hotel guests, sustainability accreditation, the use of sustainable resources, and waste management policies have become increasingly important, even more so than guest reviews and loyalty programs.
As sensing/location technologies have matured and the agricultural industry seeks to drive higher yields/efficiencies in light of increasing input costs, a range of technology suppliers have emerged providing data collection, automated systems, and insights / platforms for end-user control.
Within the broader PropTech industry, property management systems (PMS) have continually evolved to enhance building operations. Initially focused on basic operations (e.g., booking, invoicing), PMS now offers cloud and mobile-based solutions emphasizing user experience and accessibility.
As Semiconductor-based processing reaches physical limits of transistor density on Silicon wafers, calling into question Moore’s Law, the next frontier for processing power / performance growth is required to address significant demand for compute – Quantum represents a path forward.
Energy consumption from data centers in the U.S. is projected to grow nearly 4x by 2030, potentially accounting for 9% of all U.S. power consumed, driven by increasing use of AI applications (e.g., generative AI, autonomous AI), led by computing innovations from Nvidia and Intel.
EV Investment by Auto OEMs: OEMs have invested or signaled future investment in electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing capabilities and capacity. These investments are critical to support strategic goals outlined by OEMs, who are targeting 50-100% of annualized sales being EV by 2030.
The cement and concrete industry is responsible for approximately 7% of global emissions, releasing over 2 gigatons of CO2 annually. To address the stringent targets set by governments worldwide to achieve net-zero emissions, both established and emerging companies have developed technologies aimed at reducing emissions across the concrete manufacturing value chain.
Recent M&A activity across the global access control market suggests a trend to pursue commercial applications, supported by moves focused on software-focused M&A (e.g., facial recognition technology) to bolster access platforms, and hardware-focused M&A (e.g., security cameras) to augment portfolio strategies.
Cybersecurity has become increasingly critical as organizations grapple with a rapidly evolving threat landscape, intensified by advances in artificial intelligence, which is both augmenting defensive capabilities and enabling more sophisticated cyber attacks.
Sports and media across content assets, Live Sports represent a “powerhouse” across the media and entertainment ecosystem — supported by consistent viewership, underlying asset values (i.e., leagues and teams), and fragmentation of other media assets — yielding escalating content rights valuations, as evidenced by the upcoming $76B NBA broadcast rights deal.
The role of membrane technologies is underscored by their impact on major global megatrends such as sustainability, energy efficiency, and resource scarcity. Applications for membranes that highlight the impact on these trends include sour gas separation, carbon capture, water desalination, and new energy technologies (e.g., fuel cells, batteries, green hydrogen). Membrane adoption across these applications demonstrates their broad role in shaping future technological landscapes and their significant contributions to critical areas of global development.
Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) technologies, spanning from widely established pumped hydro to new, innovative chemical and mechanical systems, are essential for integrating renewable energy and enhancing grid stability over diverse time frames. As they progress and adapt to global energy needs, their deployment across various applications is pivotal in ensuring a sustainable, reliable energy landscape, making LDES a cornerstone of the renewable energy transition.
Based on the growth of advanced technologies and the rise of AI tools / platforms (e.g., OpenAI), production value chain players (fabs, foundries, IDMs) and equipment suppliers / tool OEMs are driving innovation to support global demand.
Evolution of macro trends in the Life Sciences (LS) industry (e.g., IoT, emerging economies) has resulted in an expansion of the R&D pipeline for pharmaceuticals (small molecule) and biologics (large molecule) over the past decade (e.g., ~$262B in R&D pharmaceutical spend ’23).
Based on the significant emissions profile of commercial buildings (35% of US emissions) and energy-intensive systems usage (e.g., large-scale refrigeration and HVAC units), commercial building operators are leading initiatives to reach Net Zero emissions targets, driven by organizational CSR goals or policy / regulation deadlines (2040 Net Zero goal in New York).
Access control has experienced an evolution across applications and sectors, shifting from traditional physical keys / credentials, and driving technology / digital enhancements towards mobile-enhanced credentials and biometric solutions.
The in-vehicle dashboard ecosystem has evolved, driven by technology advancements in the connected car landscape, resulting in development in the infotainment system via vehicle operating systems (e.g., Automotive Grade Linux, Android Automotive) as well as smartphone projection systems (e.g., Apple CarPlay, Android Auto).
Across the industrial automation and component supplier landscape, acquisitive players have pursued M&A since 2018, addressing sector trends that underpin the automation environment. Secular trends include the digitization of the plant environment and asset lifecycles, onshoring / re-shoring, software and hardware integration, and supply chain complexity.
Based on the rapid growth / expansion of e-commerce and logistics, software has become a critical enabler and nexus for the automation of warehousing. Given the data-centric environment of the warehouse efficiency, accuracy, and real-time tracking are important inputs to Warehouse Management Software (WMS) and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) to manage complex workflows, drive efficiency, and achieve optimization.
Given the sector transformation taking place across the automotive and mobility industry value chain, significant growth in VC capital has reflected the ongoing adoption curve and maturation of enabling technologies (e.g., battery, electric vehicles, autonomous).
Based on interest / investment in renewable energy, sustainability efforts, and technology evolutions, the Power / Electricity Value Chain is undergoing significant shifts to support the future needs of a Sustainability-focused world.
Based on the expected growth of electric vehicle (“EV”) demand and investments by Auto OEMs in vehicle electrification, EV battery production has elevated as a critical strategic supply chain challenge for car makers.
Driven by broader automation / technology trends in Discrete (e.g., Automotive, Electronics) and Hybrid industries (e.g., Food & Beverage), IIoT / Industry 4.0, and pursuit of operational efficiencies / optimization, industrial end-users have increased adoption of industrial robots.
ABSTRACT: Recently, Blackberry announced that they have reached an agreement with Ford to provide their QNX software directly to Ford cars, the first direct deal QNX has signed with an automaker.