Artificial intelligence, accelerated data transfer or the growth of electronic commerce are the basis of the business proposal of a multitude of companies. Here are a few of them that, by their innovative nature, risk disrupting our ways of doing things in the years to come.
The future of telemedicine
The pandemic has given telemedicine a boost. A vast array of companies offer services in this highly competitive sector, be it the American giant Teladoc Health or, in Quebec, the company Dialogue.
Other players in the field are proposing to take telemedicine to another level. This is the case with Tyto Care. The Israeli company offers its customers a device allowing them to carry out a self-examination of the ears, throat or to measure their heart rate. The whole of course is done with the help of a professional remotely. Thus, a doctor has more possibilities to arrive at a diagnosis than with a simple conversation with their patient. The kit offered by Tyto Care is available for less than $400.
Artificial intelligence should also help revolutionize medicine at a distance. For this purpose, K-Health offers a conversation platform that analyzes the combination of your symptoms and offers you diagnostic leads as well as advice regarding your condition. K-Health is currently valued at US$1.6 billion.
Innovative companies with an environmental focus
Artificial intelligence will not only revolutionize the field of medicine, it is also useful for environmental businesses. This is the case for AMP Robotics.
The Louisville, Colorado company uses robotics and artificial intelligence to make the recycling process more efficient and safer. Its system can recognize and sort the plastic by colour, shape or dimension.
Practices accentuated by the pandemic
In 2020, DocuSign’s revenues increased by 40%. The Gartner firm named it a leader among companies operating in the contract management sector. Founded in 2003, DocuSign offers electronic signature and digital transaction management solutions.
However, it has many competitors in this field, including Adobe, who will all try to maintain some of the momentum that the pandemic and remote working have given them. As people gradually return to the workplace, it will be interesting to see how popular electronic document signing will remain as it was in 2020.
Speaking of trends accentuated by the pandemic, Chewy was able to surf on two of them. The site, which offers pet food and accessories, has of course benefited from the growth of electronic commerce in 2020, but also from the increase in pet adoptions.
Over the past year, Chewy’s revenues have skyrocketed and its share price increased from $26 at the start of the pandemic to $128 last February. The company now wants to popularize a new offering of animal pharmaceuticals as well as online consultation with a veterinarian.
The fintech essentials
We could not talk about innovative companies without addressing the famous fintech. One of them was particularly popular this year: Robinhood. For better or for worse, the platform has facilitated access to the stock market for a whole generation of young investors.
The application makes it easy for them to make transactions at no cost and even buy fractions of shares. This is the case for Amazon or Alphabet shares, which otherwise trade for several thousand dollars a piece.
Robinhood was recently named first in the CNBC Disruptor 50 ranking. Its Canadian counterpart, Wealthsimple, is also very successful and continues to attract young users and additional funding.
