Best of Disruptive Tech: Weekly Tech Blog, Week of June 26-30, 2017

What is disruptive technology?  It’s a term that has been batted around a great deal in the last decade.  What is it, and what does it mean for you?  

In short, disruptive technology is any kind of new innovation that disrupts or overturns the established technology or creates a completely new industry. For example, the personal computer (PC) replaced the typewriter.  The PC permanently changed how we communicate, how we work, and how we do business. Disruptive companies change how we think, how we view the world, and how we use technology.

Below are 5 companies that we think offer the best of disruptive tech.

  1. Tesla. Elon Musk’s innovative company constantly pushes the envelope. Their cars are both environmentally friendly and luxurious. While some tech pundits argue that the expense of the cars takes them out of the aegis of disruptive tech, the fact that Tesla has made a viable and attractive alternative to traditional gas-powered vehicles may force the auto industry to follow suit.
  2. Helix. The idea of consumer genomics is not new, but Helix has taken it to another level. The startup offers an amazing variety of DNA-powered products that supposedly will help you make better decisions about your life.The company offers products that will give you insights on everything from disease markers to fitness solutions.
  3. CryptoMove. The company bills itself as “Moving target data protection”, and promises to protect even the most sensitive information with an assortment of techniques.  CryptoMove uses decentralized movement, mutation, distribution, and fragmentation to make any site hacker-proof. The company has garnered contracts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, so it must be pretty awesome.
  4. ShieldAI. This company is a U.S. Department of Defense darling. Shield AI delivers next-gen recon, intelligence, and surveillance systems.  The company hopes to solve the actionable intelligence deficit by using robots and UAVs full environmental perception. By using AI to collect intelligence they eliminate the need for human interaction and hopes to eradicate American and civilian casualties by 2030.
  5. Apolitical. This company is kind of like Thumbtack for government agencies but it goes much further than that. Apolitical is a global network for government that connects public servants with the people and innovations to help them solve societal challenges. Apolitical bills itself as a global impact network, Apolitical hopes to help governments improve by solving common challenges and helping them find solutions that already exist.

We need to be concerned with disruptive technology because many of these “disruptive” companies are creating technologies that will nullify existing tech. This means that we should be watching these companies because they may be smart investments in the very near future.  While they may not always prove practical or may not succeed, there are still some companies that we are watching as they may change the face of technology forever.