TECH INDUSTRY REVIEW: Flutterwave-gate, crypto crash, layoffs, AI uprising, other trends that shaped 2022

The tech industry had a tumultuous year through the 12 calendar months of 2022, with both highs and lows for stakeholders.

On one hand, the industry has seen steady, significant growth and innovation, with companies introducing new products and services that have transformed the way we live and work –with far-reaching impact in medicine, engineering, education, finance, transportation, name it.

On the other hand, the industry has also faced a number of challenges, including regulatory scrutiny, privacy concerns, and the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that is still shaping the scope of things nearly two years after supposed elimination from most countries of the world.

More than ever before, 2022 showed to the world that there was urgent need to address pandemic-driven challenges such as supply chain disruptions, hybrid workforce issues, and fluctuating IT needs, as well as the increasingly urgent need to address climate change.

Meanwhile, Deloitte (London-headquartered professional service network) in its 2022 technology industry outlook noted that emerging realities world over demand the need for “organizations to reorient and reskill their workforces in order to optimize remote work capabilities and take full advantage of advanced technologies such as AI.”

Simply, 2022 was a year of both progress and challenges for the tech industry, and stakeholders will no doubt be looking to see how these trends will continue to shape the industry in the coming year.

Before we can draw any conclusion, first, let’s look at the top trends that defined the tech industry and got newsmen busy through the year.

Top tech industry trends in 2022

1. Flutterwavegate

In April, what initially started as an infighting and interpersonal beef escalated into a full tech industry concern. Flutterwave founder, Gbenga Agboola, had become a theme in an exhaustive ugly narrative piece that sought to unearth unprofessional “abnormalities” going on in one of Africa’s unicorns.

The allegations levied on Agboola included sex abuse, compromise, employee agreement breach, public deceit, amongst others.

Within 24 hours of the publication, the news spread like wildfire, and was followed with more surprises and shocks as parties involved took turns to defend their interests. Flutterwave was severely hit, and it took a while for the burning mess to be doused off from public glare.

In the heat of the storm, David Hundeyin had also accused the entire Nigerian industry of playing the silent card. He argued that the industry went mute given the founder being an investor or partner with nearly the entire big names in the industry, including TechCabal through Big Cabal Media; BridgeCard; Evolve Credit; Flash; green Africa and a host of others.

Watch this video from Gbenga Agboola's slush fund @Berrywood_Cap detailing every startup it has a significant financial interest in, and understand why the entirety of Tech NG has been temporarily struck deaf, blind and mute regarding the Flutterwave scandal.

He owns EVERYBODY. pic.twitter.com/bO38sNwsjr

— David Hundeyin (@DavidHundeyin) April 28, 2022

In some quarters, there were fears that the scandal would determine VC temperament on funding. But eight months later, however, the reality is still contrary as more Nigerian startups closed various levels of funding, especially from foreign VCs.

This #Flutterwave issue should not have any impact on the resilience of the Nigerian startup ecosystem. It’s a company, not an ecosystem, scandal. There’s been several similar scandals in the US and Europe but it didn’t shake the confidence of VCs in these regions. https://t.co/I96Adcosdm

— Kofi Yeboah (@kofiemeritus) April 12, 2022

2. Crypto crash

Crypto started off the year on a promising note so much so that nearly everyone jumped at it. And, when the CBN pushed for its ban, the Nigerian apex bank was called names.

If you have a good memory, there is an expression crypto enthusiasts use when predicting the rise in many digital currency’s value: “To the moon!”

True, though, in the beginning, much of crypto did graze the stratosphere at the start of 2022, when enthusiasm was astronomically high. Months later, unfortunately, it plunged, crashing back down to Earth.

READ ALSO:Tech Tips: How to select a strong password to avoid cyber attacks

At the end of 2022, Bitcoin’s value, for instance, is roughly a fourth of what it was a year ago. Not to mention the issues that have led to the bankruptcy of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and how the CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, is under arrest for multiple investigation into the matter.

Crypto was revealed as the scam it always was in 2022.
It was a “solution” that was not solving any of the problems that are bedeviling the banking industry and it just added its own burden.

— Homo Deus (@La_J0lz) December 30, 2022

3. Layoff spree

There may be a link between the eventual layoff that greeted the tech industry in 2022 and the collapse of crypto. Some analysts have blamed it on multiple crypto investments that went wrong.

The last time there was such magnitude of layoff was during the pandemic when companies had to shed weight to meet new realities.

This time, Twitter, Meta, Tesla, Shopify, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Nexford University, and a host of Crypto companies have all cut staff.

Layoff Contagion Spreads From The Tech Sector To Everywhere Else https://t.co/8RzjrRSfNI pic.twitter.com/0tXkoSFpTv

— Forbes (@Forbes) December 27, 2022

We can only hope that things pick up on a better side in 2023.

4. AI uprising

Artificial intelligence (AI) has experienced significant growth over the past decade, with advances in machine learning and natural language processing leading to the development of a wide range of applications.

In 2022, the growth moved many steps onward. We saw applications ranging from virtual assistants and chatbots that can understand and respond to human language, to self-driving cars and intelligent robots that can perform tasks and make decisions on their own.

Near the end of 2022, ChatGPT was discovered by content creators. With the app alone, some writers may lose their job in the years ahead as copies and short form articles could be generated with ChatGPT and its varients.

In addition to the growth of AI in consumer applications, the technology is also being used in a number of industries to improve efficiency and productivity. We can only expect more from AI.

5. Big Tech Lawsuits

Another highlight of 2022 is industry lawsuits. From America to France to China, nearly all the top countries have sued one big tech or the other.

The year exposed some the unknown atrocities going on in the tech space in the name of advertisement and cookies compromise.

Facebook, Twitter, Google have all had to deal with paying some form of fines to clear their names off bad records.

6. Fund raiser

If anything has been constant and consistent during 2022 in the tech space, it is the propensity of fund raisers.

This year, quite encouraging, both male and female founders benefited from polls of findings from VC.

Without exaggeration, a day did not pass without a report on funding.

7. Product launch

In between news and commentary, we equally saw new products and startup launching into the space to play and to compete.

The world have become flood with everything-as-a-service (X-a-a-S). These launches were a part of 2022.

8. Acquisition

There have been many high-profile acquisitions in the tech industry over the years, with some of the most notable examples including the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook, the acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft, and the acquisition of Nest by Google.

In 2022, the biggest acquisition was the Twitter acquisition by Tesla boss, Elon Musk. The started as a joke in April and became a reality the world is still dealing with in October.

As usual, this acquisition is expected to allow Musk expand his business reach and capabilities, which is equally expected to result in significant financial returns for the American billionaire.

In conclusion…

The tech industry has had a year of both highs and lows for stakeholders. On the positive side, the industry has seen significant growth and innovation, with companies introducing new products and services that have transformed the way we live and work. At the moment, we can only hope that 2023 give us beautiful memories to remember come 2024.

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