22 predictions for 2022

The future holds… squiggly lines (Source: Eskay Lim / EyeAm)

As New York Yankee great — and American poet — Yogi Berra said: “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.”

For that reason, we at The Hustle outsourced our prediction work and read up on dozens of “2022 predictions.” Here are 22 interesting ones for you:

1. Apple will hit a $3T market cap. And Microsoft will achieve the same milestone not long after. (Seeking Alpha)
2. Natural language processing (NLP) will be the hottest funding vertical in the AI industry. (Forbes)
3. Bob Iger returns as Disney CEO… if Disney+ subscribers continue to slow and the stock continues to stumble. (CNBC)
4. Lithium reaches an inflection point. The metal is critical for EV batteries but is environmentally damaging to extract. This will push the industry to find green alternatives. (Kearney)
5. The S&P 500 will rise, with Goldman Sachs predicting a +9% gain for 2022. (Business Insider)
6. Only 10% of firms will go fully remote, with 30% returning to the office and the remainder (60%) struggling to figure out a hybrid model. (Forrester)
7. Global box office will jump to $33.2B (+58% YoY) but the film industry will have to wait until 2023 to reach pre-pandemic levels of $40B+. (Variety)
8. The EU becomes the world’s most important tech referee. While US antitrust bills are stuck in Congress, regulators in the EU and UK will continue to bring antitrust cases against Big Tech. (Casey Newton)
9. Following El Salvador’s lead, other countries in Latin America — such as Panama or Paraguay — could make Bitcoin legal tender. (CoinDesk)
10. Private equity’s new playbook. To unlock value, PE firms will start acquiring companies and make them “remote-first.” (Chris Herd)
11. DAOs are the new SPACs. As a quick-funding vehicle, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) will become as hyped in 2022 as special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) were in 2021. (The Guardian)
12. Influencer marketing takes off. With Apple’s new privacy updates, companies will look to creators to reach their audience. (TechCrunch)
13. Burnout among medical professionals will decline with advances in health care AI. (GE Healthcare)
14. Hot startups that could go public in 2022 include Databricks, Rippling, Stripe, Klarna, Revolut, MasterClass, and more. (Crunchbase News)
15. Inflation expectations remain high for 2022, according to a Bloomberg survey of 47 economists, as the world works through supply chain constraints. (Bloomberg)
16. Apple will acquire a film/TV studio to better compete with its streaming competitors. (CNBC)
17. Cottagecore is the next design trend. The rural aesthetic features “patterned vintage wallpaper, floral upholstery and wood.” (Airbnb)
18. The acute phase of the pandemic will end at some point in 2022, according to Bill Gates. His optimism relies on continued improvements with vaccines and treatments. (Inc Magazine)
19. Passwords will go away as new forms of multifactor authentication (MFA) hit the market. (Government Technology)
20. EV makers make money. Companies like Rivian, Lucid Motors, Lordstown Motors, Canoo, and Fisker will (finally) deliver a meaningful number of cars. (CNBC)
21. Meme stocks are here to stay, as retail traders continue to find stocks to hype up. (The Economist)
22. You will hear the words “Web3” and “metaverse” next year. (The Hustle)