Will the Tech Industry Survive?

2022 has been a rollercoaster ride for the tech industry. Although no official recession has been announced yet, between the crypto crash, soaring interest rates and massive layoffs, the tech market seems to be in free fall. As Google CEO Sundar Pichai put it in his layoff announcement​: "We hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today." What we should bear in mind though, is that this is not the first time the tech industry is taking a significant tumble. Examples include the dot.com crash in 2000 and the Lehman collapse some years later, which marked the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. So, what is different this time around? Or is the new crisis just another shake-up of an industry which has grown out of control, with too much greed in the wake?

On 22 March, SwedCham has invited four high-profile Swedish business leaders and investors in Singapore from different fields of the tech industry on our stage to give their views on the current market situation and what their take is on 2023. Let's hear from:

• Andreas Ehn​, angel investor; Spotify's first employee / CTO responsible for the product and platform architecture as the company took off
• Magnus Ekbom​, Managing Director of Nordic Light, which advises institutional investors and governments on strategy, business management & policy and partners growth companies with global ambitions. Co-founder of Lazada
• Nellie Wartoft​, Founder and CEO of Tigerhall​, a social learning platform which last year had a record breaking year of 559% growth and now boasts 17% of the world's Fortune100 companies as clients
• Dušan Stojanović​, EBAN Angel of the Year in 2013 after three successful exits in 10 days; an early successful investor in the Metaverse NFT gaming space whose focus right now is on AI. Dušan will be the moderator of this session.

Topics which will be covered include, for example, macroeconomic scenarios and impact in SEA, Nordics and Northern Europe; where do you place your bets from an investment point of view; impact of ChatGPT and AI in Web2/Web3. The speakers will also give their view on both Sweden's and Singapore's future as tech nations and what it takes today to stay ahead. Given the speed of industry developments, the focus of the talk will without doubt be updated before the event is held...

AGENDA

• 8:10 - 8:30 Networking and light breakfast
• 8:30 - 8:40 Introduction - Dušan Stojanović​, Founding Partner, True Global Ventures 4 Plus​, and Lisa Ferraton​, General Manager, SwedCham Singapore​
• 8:40 - 9:30 Discussion between our invited guests
• 9:30-10:00 Questions and reflections from the audience.

Huge thank you to SEB​for letting us host this event at their stunning offices.