NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Eytan Avriel

Want to know what’s the winning technology of the next few years? Want to know which startups will be making the most money? Are you angling to meet the new generation of young investors or the biggest names in venture capital?

If so, you should steer clear of the Davos conference of the world’s business and political leaders due to start on Monday and stay for the final day of the European DLD conference now taking place in Munich.

Why? The threat of climate change and tensions between the global technology giants and the public has conquered the economic and media agenda. DLD, which for the last 15 years has been meeting annually to chew over trends in the digital world, technology and society in general, has not done a bad job at capturing trends. When the market was down, the conversation turned to the troubles of entrepreneurs raising capital; when it was rising, it focuses on the new rich.