Chris’ note: As long as the coronavirus panic lasts, my main goal is to help you maintain perspective. That’s what will allow you to protect your health and your wealth.
That’s not easy right now. TV’s talking heads are good at throwing around scary numbers. But they’re short on perspective… and almost devoid of solutions. Big Tech social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are no better.
One of the Legacy analysts I’ve been turning to for a handle on it all is Jeff Brown. He’s a former high-tech executive with a deep network of contacts in that world. And he believes most folks are missing the big picture… and that the post-COVID-19 world will present numerous opportunities to profit.
Jeff talked about one of his favorites last Wednesday in a special briefing. Catch up here. And read on to hear from Jeff on how COVID-19 will change the world… even after the panic ends.
Suddenly, the world has been forced to change.
In the wake of COVID-19, our society has come to a standstill.
Nonessential businesses are closed. Entire cities are quarantined. International flights are empty. Entire hotel buildings are shuttered. Cruise ships sit dormant at their ports.
These days, a big outing usually means just going to the supermarket…
We could spend all day listing how COVID-19 has changed our world in just the past few months.
But today, I don’t want to spend time discussing how this virus has changed our present. Instead, I want to show you what it means for our future.
Things are going to get better… rapidly. The world will get back to school and work in the months ahead.
But the world we enter will be very different from the one we left when society entered “self-isolation.”
That’s because this virus is the catalyst that technology companies have been waiting for.
Our slow, gradual digital transformation is over. Technologies that were once “nice to have” are now vital to businesses’ survival and have even become a part of our lives outside of work.
Few have thought about the long-term impact COVID-19 will have on how we work, socialize, and entertain ourselves.
So today, I want to show you the three biggest transformations I see coming.
Transformation No. 1: “Antifragile” Manufacturing
As production ground to a halt in China, it didn’t take long to disrupt supply chains.
Consider this…
Around 80% of the drugs taken in America and Europe have key pharmaceutical ingredients made in China. What if people don’t have supplies of life-saving drugs?
What if pharmaceutical companies don’t have the ingredients to produce more?
What if medical-device manufacturing companies don’t have the key electronic components required to make ventilators?
Suddenly, the world has realized how fragile its supply chains really are.
Today’s centralized manufacturing models are vulnerable to these sorts of black swan events.
I believe that this experience is a catalyst for changing where and how products are manufactured. Rather than having a highly centralized manufacturing infrastructure primarily in mainland China, companies and countries will look to bring their manufacturing back onshore.
The reality is that the labor cost differentials just aren’t that large anymore.
And with technologies like 3D printing, computer vision, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and automated manufacturing, companies can now affordably produce products in developed markets.
I’m envisioning a future where goods will be “printed” or produced at smaller manufacturing sites close to the markets they serve.
Not only would this reduce the risk of supply chain disruptions, but it would also cut logistics costs and speed up delivery time.
The reality is that this massive shift had already started during the tense trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. The global pandemic simply kicked this into high gear.
And contrary to what many people think, this new revolution in manufacturing will create jobs, not eliminate them. Millions of new jobs will be created to build and maintain this next generation of manufacturing facilities.
This is a decade-long process with a completely new manufacturing infrastructure that needs to be built. We are being forced to rethink and reinvent how and where the world produces the things that it wants and needs.
Transformation No. 2: AI-Powered Healthcare
Last month, an early-stage biotech company called AbCellera received a blood sample from a patient who had recovered from COVID-19.
AbCellera’s mission was to screen the blood sample for antibodies that helped the patient fight the virus. Knowing which antibodies are effective against the virus is invaluable. It can help researchers create an effective therapy against COVID-19.
Typically, this process would have taken years. But get this: AbCellera screened more than 5 million immune cells. The company then identified 500 antibodies that were effective against COVID-19.
And it did it all in just 11 days…
Its secret weapon was artificial intelligence. The company “unleashed” an AI on the sample and got results in under two weeks.
This is incredible. These antibodies may very well be the key to fighting COVID-19. And the company found them in a fraction of the time thanks to AI.
The entire biotechnology industry is moving in this direction. The pace of development is unlike anything I’ve seen before.
The exponential growth of COVID-19 has taught the world that we can no longer wait years or even decades to develop effective therapies. And thanks to AI, we won’t have to.
In the future, AI will make the world nimbler when reacting to new viruses like COVID-19. It will accelerate new drugs and therapies to cure diseases the world over.
Transformation No. 3: 5G-Powered Remote Applications
With businesses shutting down their offices, legions of workers – some for the first time – are learning to navigate videoconferencing and teleconferencing technologies.
And businesses are learning that cloud-based applications are no longer just convenient pieces of technology to have. They are essential to continuing daily operations.
Even when offices reopen in the weeks ahead, businesses will continue to utilize these technologies.
I’m not saying that we’ll never go into a traditional office again. But I predict workweeks will change. We will spend fewer hours at the office. All business travel will be reconsidered. Anything that can be done remotely will be.
And technologies like augmented reality and telepresence – even the use of holographic images – will only speed up this shift in how and where we work. Imagine having a holographic version of yourself “broadcasted” into your next staff meeting.
That day is fast approaching.
But all these technologies have one thing in common. They require exponentially more bandwidth. Today’s wireless and wired networks simply aren’t up to the task.
Nokia just released data saying that most 4G wireless networks around the world see 30-45% growth in traffic over a year. But peak usage has jumped 20-40% over just the past few weeks.
It’s gotten so bad that the European Union (EU) even asked companies like Netflix, Disney+, Zoom, and Facebook to reduce the quality of their videos to ease the strain on the networks.
And that brings me to the final transformation.
Because of COVID-19, countries are racing to adopt 5G wireless technology as well as upgrade their fiber-optic networks and data centers. Otherwise, it simply won’t be possible to handle all the traffic.
As I’ve shared before in these pages, 5G will be – on average – 100 times faster than the global 4G networks. It will be able to support the bandwidth needs of these applications we’re adopting so rapidly.
It’ll also be able to support a new generation of applications that will take advantage of these high speeds and virtually delay-free connections. A 5G-powered world is close at hand.
Events like COVID-19 don’t happen often. But they do happen. And while they’re painful, events like these can be forces for radical change.
When the dust settles on COVID-19, the world will be forever changed. There’s no going “back to normal.”
Many industries are going to suffer. More airlines will go bankrupt. Hotels will shut down. Rental car agencies will face tough times ahead.
But a handful of niche sectors are already thriving and will continue to do so. And for well-informed investors, it will be the best investing opportunity of this decade… and perhaps our lives.
That’s why I’m making a replay of my free 5G investing summit available to everyone. I call it the “State of 5G” summit. And nearly 18,000 people attended the broadcast last Wednesday.
During this official replay, I’ll show you why COVID-19 has jumpstarted 5G adoption. And I’ll even give you details on which 5G stocks you’ll want to own to potentially 10x your money.
This is a can’t-miss opportunity. So go here to watch the replay now.
Regards,
Jeff Brown
Editor, Exponential Tech Investor