2024: A Year of AI, Funding Shifts, and the Rise of the Broligarchs
"2024 in tech: AI boom, VC winter, and the rise of the Broligarchs. TechCrunch analyzes the year's biggest trends."
Matilda
2024: A Year of AI, Funding Shifts, and the Rise of the Broligarchs
2024 was a year of dramatic shifts in the tech landscape. Artificial intelligence (AI) exploded onto the scene, dominating headlines and attracting massive investments. Venture capital funding, however, experienced a significant downturn, particularly for early-stage startups. Meanwhile, concerns about the concentration of power in the hands of a few tech giants – a phenomenon some have dubbed the "Rise of the Broligarchs" – continued to grow. The AI Revolution: AI, particularly in the form of large language models like OpenAI's GPT, captivated the world in 2024. Billions of dollars poured into AI research and development, with companies like OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic securing massive funding rounds. This unprecedented investment fueled rapid advancements in AI capabilities, leading to breakthroughs in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics. However, the rapid rise of AI also raised concerns. Questions about the ethical implications of AI,…