2019 Technology Predictions by GP Bullhound

Helping to raise Series A investment for tech companies.
GP Bullhound’s Top Technology Predictions for 2019 include:
1. DIGITAL BANKING Continues to Rise
2. APP DISTRIBUTION Moving Away From Apple and Google
3. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Goes High Tech
4. RETAIL TECHNOLOGY Gets Smarter
5. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Is the End of Repetition, not the End of Life
6. CONSUMER SUBSCRIPTION Set to Eclipse Advertising
7. A BREAK-UP of an Advertising Duopoly
8. LAST MILE DELIVERY Going the Distance
9. END OF The Boys Club
10. CRYPTOCURRENCY Will Grow Up
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Helping to raise Series A investment for tech companies.
GP Bullhound’s Top Technology Predictions for 2019 include:
About Techcelerate Ventures

Tech Investment and Growth Advisory for Series A in the UK, operating in £150k to £5m investment market, working with #SaaS #FinTech #HealthTech #MarketPlaces and #PropTech companies.
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Trends & innovations shaping the global tech sector
TECHNOLOGY 
PREDICTIONS
2 01 9
Important disclosures appear at the back of this report 
GP Bullhound LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority 
GP Bullhound Inc is a member of FINRA
Dealmakers in Technology
Dealmakers in Technology 
04 THE VIEW FROM GP BULLHOUND
06 RECAP OF GP BULLHOUND’S 2018 PREDICTIONS
08 TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
10 DIGITAL BANKING CONTINUES TO RISE
 
12 EXPERT VIEW 
 
 
Norris Koppel, CEO, Monese
14 APP DISTRIBUTION MOVING AWAY FROM APPLE AND GOOGLE
16 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT GOES HIGH TECH
18 RETAIL TECHNOLOGY GETS SMARTER
20 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS THE END OF REPETITION, NOT THE END OF LIFE
22 CONSUMER SUBSCRIPTION SET TO ECLIPSE ADVERTISING
 
24 EXPERT VIEW 
 
 
Jade Van Doren, CEO, AllTrails
26 A BREAK-UP OF AN ADVERTISING DUOPOLY
 
28 EXPERT VIEW 
 
 
John Ghiorso, CEO, Orca Pacific
30 LAST MILE DELIVERY: GOING THE DISTANCE
32 END OF THE BOYS CLUB
36 PROFESSIONAL CAPITAL SOURCES:  
 
SCOUTING FOR ENTRY POINTS INTO BLOCKCHAIN
 
39 EXPERT VIEW 
 
 
Olga Feldmeier, CEO, Smart Valor
40 METHODOLOGY
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE VIEW
From GP Bullhound
Per Roman 
Managing Partner
4
It has been a year of trials and tribulations for 
technology as regulators have sought to match 
its evolution with existing frameworks; yet this 
report shows that technology does not just  
move the goalposts, it reshapes the world  
as we know it.
How we bank, shop and the type of money 
we carry are all covered. Our predictions on 
the rise of digital banks, the influence of crypto 
currencies, and retailers’ attempts to upgrade 
delivery systems exemplify how technology 
impacts everyday decisions, as well as  
shedding light on what businesses are doing  
to speed up transactional processes and 
introduce safeguards.
We also make our predictions on employee 
engagement, subscription models and the 
Technology’s transformative effect has 
touched every corner of today’s world. Its 
commercial, social and political impact has 
been unprecedented. At GP Bullhound we 
are proud to work with the entrepreneurs and 
the world-leading companies that appreciate 
technology’s potential – and work hard to turn 
its promise into reality. Now entering its twelfth 
year, our Technology Predictions report reflects 
our optimistic mindset and demonstrates what 
technology and its leading minds could achieve 
over the next 12 months.
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
5
Alec Dafferner 
Partner
future of app stores, considering how we can 
expect them to change and grow in 2019. Each 
one shows how technology’s impact can be 
laser-focused, laying strong, specific foundations 
for future industries.
Meanwhile, we investigate what the next 
12 months may hold for developments in AI, 
advertising and retail. In each, we unearth  
an unrelenting pace of change, which could 
bring countless benefits – if pragmatic decisions 
are made.
To do that, technology must be viewed as friend 
not foe, which is one of the macro themes of 
the report. Treating tech as a negative force will 
limit the good it can do. How to balance fears 
of technology with optimism of the better world 
it can build looks set to carry on being  
a question that defines our time.
Consumers are expecting technology to give 
them a lot in return for very little: giving rise to 
a second macro theme that emerges. Pressing 
questions over what we get for what we give  
will continue to be the focus of boardroom  
and consumer debates.
The scope and scale of technology means 
challenges will inevitably exist, so it is important 
that we remain faithful to our belief that 
technology is a positive force. This report is 
intended to act as a roadmap to readers, 
shedding light and expert opinion on the  
trends that matter. We hope you find it useful.
THE PREDICTIONS
RECAP OF GP BULLHOUND’S
2018 Predictions
Before we dig into 2019, here is a brief recap of last year’s predictions  
and how we saw their development throughout the year.
While the Pixel Buds have not been the success 
we, or Google, imagined they might be, translation 
technology as a whole has still taken off this year. 
Neural machine translation has given translation 
technology a more accurate and faster way to 
provide context to different words or phrases, which 
has revolutionized the efficacy and adoption of tools 
like Google Translate6. As a global bank, we are 
constantly in need of translation services for our own 
personal use. Voice translation and text translation 
have reached a point where, with connectivity, 
anyone can seamlessly travel in foreign cities and 
communicate with the people that call them home.
Remarkably, we weren’t strong enough with last 
year’s prediction. Mobile usage continues to 
skyrocket in China, and overtook TV usage in April 
of this year, with adults spending two hours and 
39 minutes a day on mobile devices, accounting 
for 41.6% of their daily media time – compared 
with two hours and 32 minutes a day watching TV, 
which represents 39.8% of daily media time4. Some 
98% of China’s internet users are mobile, which is 
a bewildering statistic, and further underlines their 
mobile-first culture, underpinned by their all-in-one 
super apps5.
Much has happened in the realm of politics and 
technology over the course of 2018. The top digital 
advertisers have enacted a multitude of measures 
to counteract nefarious influences on democratic 
elections, as well as increase the transparency of 
legitimate political advertising. Both Facebook and 
Google have released their archives of all political 
advertising on their platforms and have bolstered 
security spending in a big way1. Facebook is 
ratcheting up spending on AI initiatives to counter 
rogue accounts and it plans to double the number 
of its security engineers – from 10,000 to 20,0002. 
Though the reputational damage done by these 
kinds of activities far outweighs the monetary cost, 
the financial impact cannot be understated and it is 
certainly felt by their bottom line.
There is no doubt that consumer cybersecurity 
continues to be an incredibly important topic  
for consumer brands and consumers themselves. 
Awareness, and unfortunately the number of 
victims, of cybersecurity continues to rise – with 
54% of people more concerned with protecting 
their personal data after the Cambridge Analytica 
scandal than they were previously3. With more 
awareness comes increased action. This consumer 
security trend can be seen in the cybersecurity 
space, for example with the IPO of Avast in May  
2018, which is one of the largest providers of 
consumer antivirus and VPN solutions.
6
1. AN UNEASY FUTURE  
For Politics and Technology
4. TRANSLATION TECHNOLOGY  
Takes Hold
3. MOBILE TRUMPS TV  
In China 
2. CYBER SECURITY 
Exposure and Adoption
Sources: 1. Tech Crunch, Facebook launches new weekly ad archive report for political spending, August 15, 2018 2. The Hill, Facebook launches new 
weekly ad archive report for political spending, October 23, 2018 3. Tech Republic, Consumers are more concerned with cybersecurity and data privacy 
in 2018, November 7, 2018 4. eMarketer, In China, Mobile Usage Will Overtake TV This Year, April 19, 2018 5. Tech Crunch, Consumers are more concerned 
with cybersecurity and data privacy in 2018, August 21, 2018 6. Wbur, Translation Technology Is Getting Better. What Does That Mean For The Future?, July 
19, 2018
Inaccurate prediction
Accurate prediction
Partially accurate prediction
7
We were only partially correct in our prediction about 
email in the workplace. It seems people are more 
reliant on aging forms of communication than we 
thought, with both workplace instant messaging tools 
and email growing at a clip in 2018. We sent roughly 
281 billion emails per day in 2018, with that number 
forecast to grow to 294 billion in 2019. However, 
messaging services have grown dramatically in 
popularity and usage over the last year. Slack, for 
example, now has 8 million daily active users, with 
users spending an average of 320 minutes a day (!)  
on the platform per week day7. 
The movement of tech companies to areas 
outside traditional hubs has continued over the 
past year. While key drivers of this migration were 
once economic, politics now play a larger role e.g. 
Thiel Capital’s move from San Francisco to LA. The 
passing of Proposition C in San Francisco has caused 
a deep divide in the tech community. Capital is 
abundant outside of target cities - Seattle and 
San Diego have both attracted over $1 billion in 
VC investment8, leading to a more geographically 
distributed ecosystem. In Europe, Brexit has caused 
many entrepreneurs to move to cities such as Brussels 
– throwing into question London’s title as the start-up 
capital of Europe9.
We were spot on in our prediction that the HR software 
market is moving towards suite solutions rather than 
‘best-of-breed’ point solutions. In a big shock to 
the market, LinkedIn announced a move into the 
Applicant Tracking System (“ATS”) market with the 
launch of Talent Hub10. This is a natural extension of  
its ‘top of the funnel’ sourcing and it will be interesting 
to see how it plays out in a crowded and well 
capitalized ATS market. LinkedIn clearly sees the  
value of the suite, choosing to enter into a space  
that it has previously avoided.
Regulatory bodies reported a significant increase 
 in enforcement actions and civil monetary penalties  
due to cryptocurrency oversight. The largest court 
case of its kind in 2018 saw cryptocurrency established 
as a commoditiy, which allows the Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission to police the market13. Bitcoin has 
experienced a sharp decline, crashing through the  
$6k barrier and reaching its lowest level since October 
of last year. Notable Bitcoin thought leader Barry 
Silbert famously tweeted “capitulation” in the face  
of the continued Bitcoin rollercoaster. The concerning 
factor in the Bitcoin market is the magnitude of the 
volatility – sometimes dropping and rising over 10%  
in a single day.
Industry 4.0 has officially arrived in 2018 in a 
meaningful way. We mentioned that consulting 
firm activity was the leading indicator of a slow 
moving but massive opportunity in Industry 4.0. As 
manufacturers begin to retrofit legacy factories with 
smart robotics, they are leaning on consultants for 
their expertise. Deloitte posted record revenue for 
FY2018 and explicitly stated one of the main growth 
drivers of their consulting business to be digitally-
enabled business transformation opportunities11, 
many of which are created by Industry 4.0. 
Accenture has been busy in the space, as usual, 
acquiring Mindtribe and Pillar Technology, which 
further bolster its “Industry X.O” practice12.
For all the hype surrounding Apple and Google’s 
forays into augmented reality, the early market 
reacted with a tepid response, but then proceeded 
to take off. Data from Sensor Tower suggests ARKit 
has been downloaded over 13m times just six months 
after launch14. In unsurprising fashion, consumers are 
mostly interested in gaming titles, which comprised 
47% of AR installations. Consumer interest remains 
bullish, and AR continues to become more and more 
mainstream with the introductions of advanced 
handsets and pre-installed AR apps. With the news 
that Magic Leap does not live up to expectations, 
we are unsure of the near term prospects for 
enterprise applications, but we remain true believers 
in the long term opportunity. 
6. INTERNATIONAL LABOR 
Arbitrage Flourishes
5. OVER AND OUT  
Email
8. INDUSTRY  
4.0
10. AUGMENTED REALITY  
Adapts for Early Adoption
Sources: 7. Expanded Ramblings, 55 Amazing Slack Statistics and Facts (August 2018), November 10, 2018 8. Pitchbook, November, 2018 9. ZD Net,  
The Brexit dilemma: Will London’s start-ups stay or go?, October 16, 2018 10. LinkedIn, LinkedIn Announces new Recruiter platform it’s first ATS and  
new diversity insights at Talent Connect Conference, October 10, 2018 11. PR Newswire, Deloitte announces record revenue of US$43.2 billion, September 
18, 2018 12. Accenture Newsroom, Accenture Expands Industry X.0 Capabilities with Two Acquisitions in North America, August 9, 2018 13. Wall Street 
Journal, Cryptocurrencies, Trading Scams Draw Increased Federal Enforcement, October 5, 2018 14. Venture Beat, Sensor Tower: ARKit apps rack up  
over 13 million downloads in 6 months, March 28, 2018
9. REGULATORS RULE ON  
Boom and Bust of ICOs
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
7. THE UNLIKELY COMEBACK 
Of the Software Suite
THE PREDICTIONS
TECHNOLOGY
Predictions 2019
Over the course of more than a decade, GP Bullhound’s Technology 
Predictions report has established a reputation as an industry-leading 
analysis of the trends and innovations shaping the global technology  
sector. What follows are the ten trends we believe will define tech in 2019.
8
Between 2017 and 2018 there was a 24% increase 
in digital transactions, with more than two-thirds 
of millennials in the US using their smartphone as 
a wallet. This is creating an environment where 
traditional financial institutions are implementing 
innovative digital banking solutions, while start-ups 
grow at a rapid rate due to the demand from  
venture capitalists to invest in fintech. 
1. DIGITAL BANKING  
 Continues to Rise
Recruitment processes, data analytics and capital 
management are just three areas of HR set to be 
disrupted by new technology. HR tech could have 
a major impact on the way teams manage their 
internal processes, but artificial intelligence used 
in HR will have to be tuneable in order to avoid 
institutionalizing the biases it aims to eliminate.
3. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT 
Goes High Tech 
Income from apps makes up 20% and 18%  
of Apple and Google’s respective revenues, 
 charging a commission to app developers to host 
and distribute on their platforms. However, a backlash 
is beginning with the tech giants becoming a leech 
on app developers that have the product popularity 
to stand alone.
2. APP DISTRIBUTION  
Moving Away From Apple and Google
Traditional bricks and mortar retail still dominates 
over e-commerce, making up 88% of global retail 
purchases. Tech giants and online start-ups are even 
turning their attention to physical rather than online 
exclusive retail. A new age of retail is emerging, with 
the combination of innovative technology and the 
social dimension consumers enjoy in traditional retail.
4. RETAIL TECHNOLOGY   
Gets Smarter
9
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
7. A BREAK-UP   
of an Advertising Duopoly
Advertisers spent $4.6 billion on Amazon’s platform in 
a watershed year that has seen advertising money 
move away from the Google-Facebook duopoly, 
which currently hold 58% of the market combined. 
With the development of its own end-to-end service, 
brands will begin to allocate budget to specialized 
performance partners in order to get their product  
in front of Amazon’s consumers.
5. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS THE   
End of Repetition, not the End of Life
The media narrative has often portrayed technology 
as the end of the white-collar workforce, but like all 
previous industrial revolutions, humans will adapt 
to new technologies. Artificial intelligence is set to 
improve working conditions, create more flexible 
ways of working, and remove the need for humans  
to take on time-consuming menial tasks.
10. CRYPTOCURRENCY   
Will Grow Up
We are yet to see the best of cryptocurrencies. 
Blockchain activity is picking up with even 
traditional financial institutions ensuring they 
do not get left behind. 2019 should be the year 
institutional capital flows into cryptocurrency, with 
previous obstructions and tight regulations lifted.
8. LAST MILE DELIVERY 
Going the Distance
More than half of shoppers under-35 expect to have 
an option of same-day delivery, despite only two 
of the top 50 online US retailers offering this. But with 
next-day delivery already a staple, and Amazon 
leading the way in developing fulfilment centers for 
rapid delivery, more retailers will turn their attention 
 to last mile delivery solutions.
6. CONSUMER SUBSCRIPTION 
Set to Eclipse Advertising
As concerns of data misuse grow, and content 
quality increases, it is becoming clearer that 
consumers are more interested in reliable paid 
subscription services. Growth in the digital ad  
market is slowing, while subscription models 
have grown in popularity, with more incentive  
for companies to improve their products for  
a loyal user base. 
9. END OF 
The Boys Club
Though the technology sector has been among 
the most progressive when it comes to corporate 
initiatives for reaching gender balance, veteran 
female investors and executives are now taking  
a different angle by improving accessibility to  
the venture backed tech ecosystem for new  
and prospective female entrants.
PREDICTION 1
COMPANIES TO WATCH
DIGITAL BANKING
Continues to Rise
1,765
Bank branches 
closed in 2017 
in the US
46%
increased their 
mobile banking 
usage from 
last year
91%
Prefer using mobile 
banking apps 
compared to a 
physical branch
10
From a macro perspective, the combination of 
regulatory relief and reductions in corporate tax 
rates alongside rising interest rates could help 
US banks reach pre-crisis return on equity levels. 
This has resulted in banks and other enterprises 
flexing their investment muscles, with investments 
contributing to $40bn in M&A activity in the first  
half of 2018 across 140 transactions4.
Despite high funding activity surrounding 
financial technology start-ups, many traditional 
players are developing their own digital banking 
solutions to compete with the newer players in 
the field. Commission-free trading and investing 
platforms spurred JP Morgan to create a digital 
investing service that provides free or discounted 
trades and no-fee access to the bank’s stock 
research. Venmo’s rise led to the development of 
Zelle, a competing digital money transfer system 
developed through the combined efforts of 
seven of the largest banks in the US. Meanwhile, 
Goldman Sachs responded to the proliferation 
of digital savings accounts with Marcus, which 
provides middle class customers with access to 
products that once existed solely for high net  
worth clientele. 
There are some areas in the banking ecosystem 
that remain uncapitalized by larger players, 
which leaves start-ups to grow at rapid rates until 
traditional players realize the opportunity. Brex, 
which recently reached unicorn status in under 
two years, is changing the face of credit cards 
by issuing them to small start-ups and charging 
based on company revenues or credit history.  
ID Finance is pioneering the fintech market by 
providing digital access to banking services in 
areas where traditional methods are inaccessible. 
Both Brex and ID Finance have developed a 
proprietary scoring model to determine the risk 
of their users, providing a technological edge 
compared to larger banks.
However, despite growing interest and investment 
in digital banking, there are associated risks and 
uncertainties in these solutions. Due to low unit 
economics, as the average balances across  
digital accounts are quite small compared to  
their acquisition costs, most digital accounts  
are unprofitable. 
Banks combat this by expanding their offerings 
to increase cross-selling opportunities. However, 
this may be especially difficult as the market 
becomes increasingly saturated as banks target 
the same tech-savvy demographic. Furthermore, 
most customers prefer dealing with humans on 
matters like setting up financial goals or getting 
investment advice, while about half of US banking 
customers aged 18 to 44 said they banked digitally 
but prefer to resolve some matters in-person5. Thus, 
digital banks need to recreate the branch network 
virtually to the greatest extent possible, aiming to 
offer digital-only customers the comfort that larger 
institutions can.
However, despite these difficulties, the future looks 
bright for digital banks. As greater investment, more 
considerate regulation and increasing innovation 
pushes the industry forward, we will continue to 
monitor the market with the hope that more choice 
and lower costs will encourage and incentivize a  
fully digital consumer financial system capable  
of global reach.
Tech-savvy millennials have driven – and continue to drive — a seismic shift 
towards an uptake in digital banking. According to the latest data available, there 
are 71 million millennials in the United States1, with 68% using their 
smartphone in tandem with their wallet to handle transactions2. The transition 
towards digital banking will continue to be facilitated by payment services like 
PayPal and Venmo, which have seen a combined 24% increase in transaction 
volume from $6.1bn to $7.6bn from 2017 to 20183. This should continue to  
grow as most millennials conduct at least some of their banking-related activities 
via digital channels, such as checking account balances, transferring funds, and 
performing account maintenance. 
Sources: 1. Pew Research, Millennials projected to overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation, March 1, 2018 
2. Citibank: Mobile banking use is up 25% in the last year, April 27, 2018 3. Paypal, 10-k, filed February 7, 2018 4. Pitchbook, 2018
11
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
EXPERT VIEW
Norris Koppel
Founder & CEO, Monese
I discovered that regulators and governments are 
generally supportive of streamlining processes – 
like making it easier for people  
who have recently arrived in a country to  
open a bank account. The blocking force,  
in fact, is the traditional banks.
Outdated technology, archaic paper-based 
compliance processes and old ways of working 
combine to inhibit traditional banks from offering 
their customers a modern, seamless experience. 
That’s where we spotted our opportunity: to 
create a banking service that truly supports 
customers living their financial lives across multiple 
countries, whether it is for work, study or retirement. 
Through our ability to verify customer identity and 
background globally on their mobile devices in 
real time, we have removed the biggest barrier 
to accessing financial services in new countries. 
From there, we are building a globally connected 
service that gives customers an easy and smart 
access to accounts, credit, mortgages, savings 
and more - a locally smart and globally portable 
banking service. 
Our innovation – and the work done by businesses 
like ours – has not just been welcomed by millions 
of customers around the world, but increasingly 
by the big banks that once stood in our way. A 
mindset shift has crept into traditional providers  
– a move that has seen them get on board  
with fintech.  
A few years ago, when the fintech revolution  
really started, it felt like big banks were ignoring  
the change. But as digital banks opened, grew 
and began to take market share, traditional banks 
realized they could soon be made obsolete. 
In response, they’ve invested heavily into 
redeveloping their digital offering and are 
pumping money into their digital mobile apps. 
They are operating faster, finding ways to be 
consumer friendly and – importantly – on the  
hunt for partnerships. 
When we started, it was difficult to get in the same 
room as the traditional banks. As a financial services 
company, we have to hold customers’ funds in a 
traditional bank, so their collaboration was vital to 
success. Big banks didn’t know what to think of us – 
or those like us – so many just kept the door closed. 
However, as fintech has grown, banks now actively 
approach us. 
Thinking ahead, it’s likely that some banks will want 
to retain as many product offerings as possible, but 
I predict there will be some banks that completely 
relinquish control, working in tandem with newer 
players like us to provide services instead – and 
doing a better job at it. 
In the next five to ten years, I see many traditional 
banks playing an essential role in the financial 
services process but having less customer-facing 
points and being more reliant on digital channels 
like Monese to offer products. 
Going forward, there are plenty of digital players 
entering the arena, but there is little overlap in what 
they do. As each one finds its identity and builds its 
own customer base, the most successful ones are 
those that go after different customer sectors. The 
market, in the grand scheme of things, is still young. 
For Monese, we will continue to be global in our 
ambition and approach – we are proud to already 
have launched in 20 countries, serving customers 
in 11 languages. And, we will stick to our vision that 
frustration-free financial services should be available 
around the globe. 
The rise of digital banks, the increasing enthusiasm 
of traditional financial service providers to work with 
start-ups and the fast-paced evolution of banking 
technology all benefits one person: the customer. 
There has never been a better time to be in the 
market for financial services. 
Like many great things in life, Monese was born out of frustration. After moving to 
a new country and trying to open a bank account, I couldn’t believe how difficult the 
process could be. Not one to be put off, I started to look at why banks behave the way 
they do and why certain processes can be tricky for a customer to navigate.
12
13
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
PREDICTION 2
COMPANIES TO WATCH
$34.4bn
In app revenues 
combined for Google 
and Apple in 
H1 2018
30%
Initial sales 
commission
15%
Sales commission 
for iterative sales
APP DISTRIBUTION
Moving Away From 
Apple and Google
14
Sources:  1. Techcrunch, Apple’s Appstore revenue nearly double that of Google Play in first half of 2018, July 16, 2018 
2. Techcrunch, Sidestepping Appstores, Facebook Lite and Groups get Instant Games, October 17, 2018
Generally, app developers are happy to pay 
this initial price for viewership and distribution. 
However, once apps reach a critical mass of users, 
this can turn from a launchpad into a leech. Some 
developers are even considering cutting their ties 
with the App Store and Google Play as a means  
of sidestepping the sales commission. For example, 
Epic Games, developer of the viral success 
“Fortnite”, has been taken off the Google Play 
Store, with Android users able to download the 
game to their phones directly from its own website.
Apple is now even facing a class action lawsuit 
in the U.S. arguing that they are using monopoly 
control to overcharge customers for apps.
Could this pushback be putting a significant 
portion of Apple and Google revenues at risk?  
The backlash from app developers and consumers 
could disrupt the entire app distribution ecosystem, 
leading to the emergence of two strategies that 
could potentially challenge Google and Apple’s 
dominance in the sector: 
1) 
Tech giants creating their own separate   
 
platforms to host their applications 
2)  Smaller players developing competing  
 
 
distribution models that are more  
 
consumer and developer friendly.
Some tech giants, with well-established user 
bases and business models, are asserting their 
position with competitive offerings of their own. 
An example of this is Facebook Lite, a less robust 
version of Facebook targeted at emerging 
markets. Facebook’s instant games were 
originally separate apps available on the Android 
and Apple stores that would be downloaded 
separately. However, to sidestep these platforms, 
Facebook has integrated its instant games into 
Facebook Lite, meaning they can be accessed 
and launched through a mobile browser rather 
than a separate app. 
The advantage of this approach? It keeps 
Facebook Lite’s file size small to the benefit of 
international users with slow connections or limited 
data plans and provides its 90 million monthly 
active users easier access to engage with  
their community of 270,000 Facebook groups2. 
Other tech players have been demonstrating 
similar behavior, with Netflix and Spotify moving 
their subscription services off the App and Play 
stores and onto their own websites. 
However, despite these efforts, both still list their 
apps on these stores and are unlikely to stop  
doing so anytime soon. 
Why? Most apps are in a highly competitive 
marketplace full of copycats with similar offerings, 
so proximity to the consumer is vital for continued 
thriving and surviving. Thus, despite Facebook’s 
entrance into app distribution, and Netflix and 
Spotify’s middle ground strategy, we should not 
anticipate the tech titans taking a clean break 
from Apple and Google’s distribution.
But on the other end of the size spectrum, a 
number of innovative start-ups, such as Robot 
Cache and Ultra.io, are disrupting the market 
by offering more consumer and developer-
oriented alternatives to the traditional distribution 
model. These new platforms can charge a lower 
sales commission (e.g. 5% on each sale and 
microtransaction instead of 30%), creating new 
revenue streams for developers, such as facilitating 
in-game trading through a digital marketplace. 
Furthermore, consumers can interact with these 
platforms in new ways; reselling their games and 
earning money by testing new ones, providing 
more meaningful ways to interact with their apps.
So, what will happen next? Google will likely be hit 
harder as its platform is more open to applications 
from outside the store, whilst Apple makes it more 
difficult for companies to download apps from 
other platforms. 
But even Apple will have to react if these new 
start-up distributor disruptors are able to gain 
traction and develop large, consistent user bases. 
This ongoing discussion will only help the industry 
move forward – with more competition meaning 
a better experience for consumers and a more 
considerate one for all developers.
App revenues represent a significant contribution to Apple and Google. 
Through the App Store and Google Play, the tech giants generated 
approximately 20% and 18% of their respective total revenues for the  
first half of 20181. These distributors charge a 30% commission on  
every sale in the first year after app launch, decreasing to 15%  
in subsequent years. 
15
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
PREDICTION 3
COMPANIES TO WATCH
47%
of organizations  
are involved  
in automation 
projects
24%
of organizations  
are using AI  
to make tasks 
 routine
$6bn
 of investment has 
been made in over 
1,000 start-ups in  
the last three years
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Goes High Tech
16
One key area where technology will make a great 
impact on HR is the recruitment process. Human 
decision-making is indelibly tinged with bias, and 
whilst a recruiter may not overtly show it, variables 
will subtly impact the decision-making process.
Firms are exploring how AI-based innovation can 
find the right talent and do so with zero bias and  
a laser focus on the traits that make a successful 
hire: ambition, learning agility, passion, and sense 
of purpose. Entelo and Wade & Wendy are using 
AI to enable more natural engagement with 
candidates during the process. According  
to AllyO, AI and Machine Learning have helped  
clients increase capture and conversion rates  
up to six times over a more traditional  
recruitment approach1.
Another way for technology to enhance HR 
functions is through data analytics. With the 
increased proliferation and sophistication 
of analytics, HR firms can develop a better 
understanding of what roles in which markets  
will pose challenges for their recruitment team, 
when they can expect to ramp up hiring, and 
how they can best plan for growth initiatives  
based on the talent available. Overall, analytics  
is not just a buzzword. Rather, data will become  
fully integrated into the candidate life cycle  
and its power will drive how firms recruit.
M&A activity shows that there is greater interest  
in integrating Human Capital Management  
(HCM)capabilities across the software space,  
with many notable acquisitions occurring recently.  
Not only has the number of acquisitions in the 
space increased – from 55 in 2015 to 76 in 2018  
– but the median deal size has also increased  
by more than 10x – from $28m in 2015 to  
$300m in 20182.
Transactions such as LinkedIn’s acquisition of Glint 
demonstrate how traditional players are finding 
ways to increase user engagement by facilitating 
more career development services and moving 
beyond traditional recruiting and HCM software. 
Workday’s recent acquisition of Adaptive Insights, 
a follow up to the acquisition of Rallyteam and 
Skipflag, conveys a desire from existing HCM firms 
to transition from a Software as a Service (SaaS) 
model to a Platform as a Service (PaaS) model, 
indicating a changing model that sees firms 
expand their reach with a broader base  
of products.
Despite the impact that HR tech and AI will have 
on HR functions, there are risks and concerns 
regarding the technology. As AI requires training 
data, it must learn from current management 
styles to develop its own practices. Therefore, if a 
firm’s current practices are biased, discriminatory, 
punitive or overly hierarchical, they may be 
institutionalized rather than eliminated through  
the technology.
To avoid this, AI needs to be transparent and 
“tuneable”, thereby allowing iterative tweaks  
to the algorithms to make sure they do not 
incorporate biases. There’s also the risk of data 
exposure and inadvertent misuse of AI. We must 
learn how to apply behavioral analytics carefully, 
so we do not let AI turn against individuals. AI has 
been a “tool” for suggestion and improvement  
– not an independent decision-making system  
as it stands today.
To conclude, HR tech will have a major impact  
on the way HR teams manage their internal 
process and could provide greater efficiency  
and accuracy in talent management and 
retention processes. However, the success of an 
HR tool will be dependent on the accuracy of its 
algorithms, the ease of use of its systems, and  
the ability to provide what is called “narrow AI”  
(or specific solutions that solve your problems).  
This can only be done when the vendor has 
massive amounts of data to train the system,  
as well as following several revisions based  
on feedback. That’s why we believe the key  
barriers to implementing HR tech are going  
to be leadership, company strategy, and 
employee comfort – not forgetting the  
need for great engineers.
The enterprise world has discussed the impact of AI and Machine Learning on 
human resources for years. Recently, this discussion has shifted from how to 
replace human decision making to how to streamline it using AI and Machine 
Learning, especially in relation to HR functions such as performance reviews, 
gender diversity, inclusion, compensation, and workforce forecasting.
Sources: 1. Randstad Sourceright, Talent Trends Quarterly, Q3 2018, 2. Pitchbook
17
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
PREDICTION 4
COMPANIES TO WATCH
61%
Prefer brands with 
physical stores  
than online  
only brands
58%
Use smartphones  
to research  
products whilst  
in a store
40%
Would pay more  
for a product if they 
could experience  
it in AR
RETAIL TECHNOLOGY
Gets Smarter
18
It is not a new concept for tech companies to open physical stores. Microsoft and 
Apple were the first major players to do so for their own products, but more 
recently we have seen Amazon enter physical commerce with its 4-star stores  
and Amazon Go supermarkets. Alibaba similarly has its own supermarket, 
Hema, and its own clothing retailer. This is even happening to relatively smaller 
companies such as Warby Parker, which was born online in 2010, and this year 
will have almost 100 physical stores1, similarly Bonobos  
now has 48 current locations2.
It seems almost counterproductive in our 
increasingly digital world for these tech giants,  
who dominate our lives through their online 
presence, to have entered the physical market. 
But, to paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of physical 
retail’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
Some 88% of all global retail purchases are still 
made physically, contributing between $23-25 
trillion compared to less than $3 three trillion 
through retail e-commerce3. Despite considerable 
effort to entice consumers to online – and mobile 
traffic has increased in popularity, representing 
more than half of digital retail traffic and 26-30% 
of purchases3 – most still prefer interacting with 
product experts face-to-face.
Good old bricks and mortar will survive and thrive 
alongside e-commerce for as long as consumers 
want a social dimension to their shopping 
experience. But this is not to say we are at an  
end point in retail disruption. Technology is still  
set to make a greater impact in the sector.
Alibaba’s clothing store comes from a partnership 
with the company Guess and uses mobile IDs from 
online shopping website (also owned by Alibaba) 
Taobao, to monitor customer behavior, tracking 
items they try on, purchase and recommend. 
They are then able to target these customers as 
Amazon or Google do through online searches4.
Amazon Go meanwhile has experimented  
with the elimination of cashier checkouts,  
simply tracking the movement of customers and 
putting the bill on a user’s account afterwards.  
It also uses machine learning algorithms to decide 
what items are stocked and uses data analytics  
to customize the in-store experience for every 
customer. 
Many fledgling start-ups are also entering the 
space by providing an array of possible solutions  
to enhance physical retail. AR/VR is being 
explored by the likes of NanoVR, who are creating 
virtual interfaces, such as a brand ambassador or 
a store showcase that customers can interact with. 
Another start-up, Reply.ai is aiming to develop an 
AI Chatbot system that learns from conversations 
with customers, to create a more personable and 
human assistant at physical stores – the social 
dimension remains, and the technology enters. 
The potential of machine learning meanwhile 
is being tested by the likes of Persado, building 
a platform that leverages “emotionally tagged 
content” such as images, words and phrases in 
its database. This helps retailers determine what 
elements of an advertisement work and the  
form these should take moving forward. 
A new age of retail will emerge through  
the merging of Silicon Valley’s innovative 
technology, with main street’s tangibility and 
social dimension. With companies like Amazon 
and Alibaba spearheading the transition and 
smaller start-ups developing solutions to augment 
physical retail, our current way of shopping may 
be completely disrupted sooner than we think.  
Just do not think a purely online model will be  
the dominant form of retail.
Sources: 1. CNBC, Warby Parker aims to run nearly 100 stores this year, as other Web shops follow, February 15, 2018 2. Bonobos 
website, October 30th, 2018 3.Tune, TAPS, CLICKS, BRICKS: Omnichannel Customer Engagement Is the New Brand Superpower,  
April 25, 2018 4. Digipay, Alibaba rethinks retail with a new Guess store in Hong Kong, July 9, 2018
19
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
PREDICTION 5
COMPANIES TO WATCH
31%
of companies are 
expected to add AI 
over the next year
47%
of digitally mature 
organizations  
have AI  
strategies
4.5x
increase in  
jobs requiring  
AI skills  
since 2013
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS
the End of Repetition, not the End of Life
20
Yes, work tasks will change, occupations will 
disappear, our education system will have to 
evolve. But this should be viewed as an opportunity 
for the next generation, not an apocalypse.
AI has the potential to – and increasingly will – solve 
important issues, particularly highly repetitive tasks 
that involve analysing, testing and re-testing vast 
amounts of data and/or decision trees. Medical 
product development, risk and compliance 
analysis, information aggregation and predictive 
analysis are good examples. But AI alone cannot 
drive the next phase of development, that has to 
come from humans.
A 2006 study in the Monthly Labor Review by  
Wyatt and Hecher reported that between 1910 
and 2000, the number of farm workers in the United 
States decreased from twenty-four percent of the 
labor force, to less than one percent. In a similar 
decline, other manual labor decreased from ten  
to three percent. 
As these industries faced disruption, others grew 
with a twenty percent rise in technical professions, 
the number of teachers doubling, and a seven 
fold increase in the number of health workers. 
The concept of an engineer meanwhile went 
from almost non-existent, to five percent of the 
workforce.
Through every industrial revolution – and we are 
now in the fourth – concerns have been raised 
about what will happen to the human workforce  
as automation increases. But just as the farm worker 
went from sowing the seeds to driving the plough, 
the regular office worker’s creativity will be freed 
and their living conditions improved. 
The digital revolution is no different to those 
preceding it, removing the confinement of sitting 
in an office for eight hours a day, five days a week, 
battling rush hour commutes and overpopulated 
metropolises, to a world of flexible working patterns 
and new locations. With less time commuting and 
more personalized office environments, productivity 
is bound to increase. 
As well as improving working conditions, AI will also 
improve the experience of doing a job. Instead of 
eradicating jobs, AI will augment the domain of 
tasks that existing employees spend far too much 
of their time completing. One example of this AI 
narrative is driven by companies like UiPath that 
specialize in Robotic Process Automation (“RPA”), 
software that is capable of automating many 
traditional ‘white-collar’ tasks, including copying 
and pasting, completing forms and extracting data.
While the prospect of these capabilities may sound 
threatening to the livelihoods of some workers, in 
reality they will enhance human productivity by 
removing menial tasks, allowing people more time 
to actually analyze the data. 
A compelling case for the benefits of this is in 
the financial sector, where UiPath’s virtual robot 
monitors multiple databases to check income, 
exposure and expenses, and posts a report for the 
creditor to analyze1. The result is fewer human hours 
spent pulling data, and more bandwidth dedicated 
to processing a greater number of applications, with 
shorter turnarounds. 
Many innovators in the space are painting a 
picture of symbiosis between humans and artificial 
intelligence. Apprentice.io raised $8 million in 
September 2018 to enhance productivity for skilled 
manual laborers2. The startup is helping lab scientists 
easily access standard operating procedures, 
visualize 3D technique demonstration, and capture 
data with computer vision, all through a hands-
free interface. While Apprentice.io is currently 
focused on applications in biotech and pharma, 
the technology has massive potential to assist a 
wide-range of professionals including surgeons, 
machinists, soldiers and chefs. 
To forecast a future of unemployment, of a useless 
class, from the rise of AI is bleak and melodramatic. 
The vast majority of occupations stand to benefit 
from enhanced decision making and higher 
productivity. The digital revolution has the potential 
to fundamentally transform our approach to work 
and ultimately improve our quality of life. The future 
is bright, and we see the continued introduction of 
AI into our daily work in 2019, despite some of the 
“doom and gloom” narrative in the press.
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human 
race… Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete 
and would be superseded,” the late Stephen Hawking told the BBC in 2014. 
Professor Hawking was by no means the only, nor even a rare voice of doom when 
discussing artificial intelligence (AI), believing that robots will render much of the 
world’s population what historian Yuval Noah Harari calls a “useless class” 
– unemployable, compared to far superior robots.
Sources: 1. UiPath, RPA for the Banking industry, Copyright 2005-2018 2. PR Newswire, Apprentice.io Raises $8M Series A for First 
Conversational AR and AI Platform, September 18, 2018
21
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
PREDICTION 6
35%
Growth when 
Candy Crush cut 
ads from its game
46%
Of online shoppers 
pay for media 
subscriptions
CONSUMER SUBSCRIPTION
Set to Eclipse Advertising
COMPANIES TO WATCH
22
This trend is playing out in the world of media, 
entertainment, health and wellness, education 
and a variety of other industries. As consumers 
push back against ad-supported products, and 
concerns over the misuse of customer data  
grow, companies are rapidly transitioning to  
the subscription model as a way to improve  
the consumer experience.
Software subscriptions or Software as a Service 
(SaaS) have become the holy grail of business 
models, as proven by the performance of leading 
B2B software companies, including Microsoft and 
Adobe, which have transitioned from perpetual 
license to SaaS platforms. 
For consumer businesses, relying on ad-support 
is a major constraint because revenue growth is 
bound by total ad spend available in the market, 
as opposed to the platform’s intrinsic value to 
consumers. On top of that, growth of the digital  
ad market is forecast to slow down from 17.7%  
in 2018 to 8.6% in 20221.  
At a fundamental level, the ad-backed model 
misaligns the directives of management teams to 
create as much demand as possible for ad space, 
instead of improving user satisfaction. Companies 
are forced to pour money into ad sales teams and 
lure more traffic by appealing to the masses.
For consumers, there is an ocean of free content 
online, but unfortunately that also means a lot of 
advertising distractions. Global digital ad spend 
is estimated to reach $629 billion in 20181, and 
users of “free” apps and media are confronted 
with advertisements at nearly every touch point 
in their digital lives. Consumers must increasingly 
cut through the distraction of ads and low-quality 
content to find real value, so much so that a 
growing number of users are willing to pay for 
quality and reliability. 
In 2016, amidst a post-election surge of fake  
news, the New York Times saw its highest rate  
of growth from digital subscriptions since  
launching its pay model in 20112. The media  
and entertainment sector is rapidly adopting  
the subscription model, pioneered by leaders  
like Netflix, Spotify and Match3. 
Subscription-based platforms are incentivized 
to improve their product and retain a loyal user 
base. When revenue comes from subscribing 
customers, management teams benefit from 
exceptional visibility into consumption patterns, 
helping to illuminate effective levers for growth.  
An increasing number of content and media 
platforms have trended toward the ‘freemium’ 
model, offering basic services or content for  
free, but placing additional features behind  
a paywall – typically via subscription. 
With the nuisance of ads in basic offerings, 
augmented by the value of premium features, 
this creates a dynamic push and pull incentive for 
free users to convert to paid subscribers. With this 
loyal base of subscribers, companies are able to  
refine their offerings and get better at convincing 
consumers of the value behind the paywall. 
The key to creating value on these platforms 
is delivering highly personalized and curated 
experiences. For consumers debating a 
subscription, there is a strong value proposition  
for a platform that offers not only consistent  
format and quality, but highly relevant content 
discovery. Companies are continuing to 
implement the formula, and we are seeing  
a meaningful shift in consumer preferences  
to valuable end-to-end subscription solutions. 
Up-and-comers like AllTrails, Duolingo, Calm,  
and Masterclass continue to carve out a place  
in consumers’ budgets, demonstrating their value 
and utility. This shift will only continue to play out 
across a range of verticals as consumers and 
platforms cut advertisements out of the equation 
in favor of subscriptions. 
Consumers are rapidly waking up to what the business world  
already knows – paying for robust subscription solutions is  
a superior experience to using free, ad-supported products.  
Sources:   1. eMarketer, eMarketer Releases New Global Media Ad Spending Estimates, May 7, 2018 2. The New York Times, 
Journalism That Stands Apart, January, 2017 3. GP Bullhound is an investor in Spotify.
23
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
EXPERT VIEW
Jade Van Doren
CEO, AllTrails
The Cambridge Analytica scandal and fake 
news fuelled by social media have underlined 
the challenges facing businesses that depend on 
driving their growth through advertising.
In 2018 we expect services such as search engines 
and social media platforms to come for free. 
But as we are seeing, there can be all sorts of 
downstream impacts of having a business model 
where a company’s users are the primary product. 
We realized at AllTrails that our big win would be 
to build an app that provides enough value to 
people who get outdoors that they will pay us 
money for it. Producing accurate hand-curated 
trail maps for hikers, trail-runners and mountain 
bikers globally is a big challenge, and we rely on 
our Pro users to keep the lights on. 
That said, we provide a lot of functionality for free - 
users can find directions to trails, record and share 
their activities, and much more.  But we charge a 
subscription fee for things like downloading maps 
for when you don’t have a data signal (but still  
get a blue GPS dot), real-time weather, air-quality, 
and fire history, drawing your own maps, and lots 
more features. 
We also work hard to make our paid model appeal 
to all sorts of users. When I started at AllTrails three 
years ago, our Pro users were mostly older, white 
and male, so we decided to try to make the 
product more useful to a younger, more diverse 
consumer base by adding Pro features like Lifeline, 
which lets you share your location with safety 
contacts that you specify – friends and/or family 
who will be alerted if you don’t make it back when 
you planned. 
Pro users also don’t see any ads when they’re 
signed in.  Additionally, the ads we do run are  
only sold directly (not programmatically) which 
provides us with more control of the quality of the 
ads we show.
While advertising will never completely go away, I 
believe companies and their users both win when 
the companies create products with enough value 
that users are willing to pay them directly.
I think companies will continue to find innovative 
ways to provide value through consumer 
subscriptions in new verticals – you only need to 
look at how subscription models are moving beyond 
markets that have always been big like music 
(Spotify) and news (New York Times), and into what 
have traditionally seemed like niches - meditation 
(Headspace) and karaoke (Smule) for example. 
These last two have become big companies by 
solving the real problems required to make an 
activity accessible to a broader audience. 
In an era when consumers are paying more attention than ever to how their data  
is used, are subscription models, rather than advertising, becoming a more appealing 
way for companies to monetize?
24
25
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
26
PREDICTION 7
COMPANIES TO WATCH
A BREAK-UP
of an Advertising Duopoly
1. eMarketer, Amazon Is Now the No. 3 Digital Ad Platform in the US, September 19, 2018, 2. New York Times, Amazon Sets Its Sights on 
the $88 Billion Online Ad Market, September 3, 2018, 3. Marketing Week, Amazon reveals how it thinks about advertising, September 
15, 2018, 4. Jumpshot, The Competitve State of eCommerce Marketplaces Data Report Q2 2018, July 1, 2018
5. Bloomberg, Former Amazon Ad Executive Gets VC Funding for Marketing Startup, October 23, 2018
It has been a watershed year for Amazon. Having 
relaunched its advertising services last year following 
complaints its ad products were too complicated 
to use, in Q3 of 2018, the conversion rate of Amazon 
Advertising was almost three times higher than that  
of Google Shopping1. 
Logically, Amazon should be the go-to for advertising. 
It is the primary e-commerce destination for 
consumers, well-trusted with its broad selection, 
fast shipping, competitive prices and simple return 
policies. When customers visit Amazon, they are 
visiting as shoppers and so have more purchase intent 
than one would browsing Facebook or Google. The 
scale of the platform, combined with the intent of its 
users, means advertisers now view Amazon as another 
primary distribution channel.
But it is not just intent and scale of platform, it is the 
extent of the purchasing data available to advertisers, 
which is far greater on Amazon than on other 
platforms2. For example, consumer goods corporation 
Proctor and Gamble aims to employ Amazon’s 
consumer ID data to target consumers3. Amazon has 
more visibility into consumer purchasing activity than 
any other platform and can thus better determine 
which keywords and marketing strategies ultimately 
lead to a purchase.
Advertisers will spend $4.6 billion on Amazon’s 
platform in 2018 as marketing money continues to shift 
away from Facebook and Google, which collectively 
hold close to 58% of the market1. The environment is 
ripe for Amazon to establish itself as a market leader 
in online advertising, and the company is looking to 
extend the reach of its ad platform. It is developing  
an end-to-end service, and so rather than employing 
its previous strategy of purchasing ad space on other 
sites, it is charging some sellers to run advertisements 
on its own site, going head-to-head with Google. 
It additionally plans on rolling out premium services 
to large accounts and vendors, such as Fortune 
500 brands, to solidify its position as an all-in-one 
marketing and distribution platform. 
Meanwhile, agencies looking to ride the wave 
are positioning themselves as specialized brand 
performance partners, to help typical account 
managers navigate the massive scale of Amazon’s 
constantly evolving platform. More than half of online 
product searches begin on Amazon4, and without 
specialized agencies, many account managers lack 
the tools and expertise to optimize all of the levers 
in the Amazon ecosystem. Amazon already controls 
multiple touch points of the brand experience, from 
product visibility to supply chain, and this control will 
only grow with the introduction of these agencies. 
The need for an end-to-end partner is greater than 
ever, and the challenge has already been set by WPP-
owned Marketplace Ignition, which hopes to manage 
all touch points of the brand experience from creative 
assets, to ad placement, to packaging, to consumer 
reviews. Meanwhile, Gradient.io – launched by ad-
tech expert Bobby Figueroa, who left his role with 
Amazon to leverage his inside knowledge and advise 
brands on advertising with the tech giant - raised $3.5 
million in October 20185. And expect accelerating 
growth from independent Amazon-focused digital 
platforms and agencies in the next year, including 
Channel Key, Downstream, Content 26, and  
Orca Pacific.
As brands continue to allocate more of their 
marketing resources towards Amazon in order to get 
their products in front of consumers, the Facebook-
Google duopoly will continue to be broken down. In 
the US, Amazon is still only the fifth largest generator 
of digital revenues1, but the e-commerce empire is 
competitively positioned to grow its piece of the pie 
and disrupt ad-tech in 2019.
Facebook and Google have established themselves as the primary online 
advertising platforms, but a shift in the last year has allowed a third tech 
giant – Amazon – to push into the big leagues of the ad-tech market.
% of Total Digital Ad Spending 20181
Duopoly 
(Facebook  
& Google)
Amazon
Other
58%
38%
4%
Duopoly 
(Facebook  
& Google)
Amazon
Other
56%
37%
7%
% of Total Digital Ad Spending 20201
27
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
EXPERT VIEW
John Ghiorso
CEO, Orca Pacific
I remember a decade ago when I bought into  
the Amazon promise and, seeing the sheer size 
of its potential market, becoming convinced 
that it was on track – one day – to be the biggest 
company in the world. 
In recent years, we have seen Amazon use 
its market share to grow into an advertising 
powerhouse – and it is my belief that it could 
become the number one advertisement platform 
in the US. It currently competes against Facebook 
and Google and I often find myself thinking about 
the received wisdom, “‘Facebook knows what you 
talk about, Google knows what you search for, but 
Amazon knows what you buy.” 
Think about Amazon’s knowledge of the first party 
shopper and it’s clear that the business is poised 
to take “Adland.” It’s why at Orca Pacific we 
developed a level of specialization that would 
mean we could support Amazon’s rise and its 
customers along the way. We do that by acting as 
a full-service Amazon agency that works with top 
first party vendors & third party sellers to increase 
their performance on the platform’s marketplace. 
Amazon is not just different from traditional retailers 
but also its technology rivals, due to the quality 
of the data it holds, which enables it to be an 
expert platform for advertisements. Google, for 
example, may know what people are looking for 
but it lacks knowledge on what they go on to buy 
and it generally fails to make sufficient physical 
connections. 
At Amazon, 2018 will go down as a year when 
physical connections went through the roof with 
the opening of more Go stores. There are now  
a handful of them across California, Washington 
and Illinois. Each one pulls a magic trick where 
technology tracks consumers throughout the 
experience and shoppers can leave the store 
without having to wait at the checkout to pay. 
The visual data that Amazon gains from these 
transactions combined with the digital shopping 
data that it has collected for years gives them a 
massive edge over the other advertising platforms. 
Amazon’s focus on bricks and mortar stores is just 
one physical manifestation of how brands and 
manufacturers around the world have pursued 
innovation at a startling pace. The rate at which 
businesses change today would, not so long ago, 
have been viewed as foolhardy in  
certain circles. 
Count Amazon out of the advertising race at your 
peril. In fact, I predict that Amazon will increase 
its embrace of external technology companies 
in order to accelerate its ad-tech offering. As 
has become commonplace with these matters, I 
would also expect competitors to look on and find 
inspiration in what Amazon achieves and find their 
own ways to follow suit. 
Finally, getting into specifics, there is one more 
thing I would like to draw attention to. When 
people talk about Amazon’s advertising, or focus 
on it, they are mostly talking about search. It was 
called Amazon Marketing Services (“AMS”) and 
now it is called Sponsored Brands, and it’s the 
bread and butter for advertising for most brands 
and clients – including us. 
But display advertising – through what Amazon 
calls the Amazon DSP – is so far not widely used 
and I predict it will become much more prominent 
in 2019. DSP does not necessarily apply to smaller 
players, but if you have $500,000 - $1 million in your 
advertising budget, then display advertising should 
be a critical piece of your advertising strategy. 
Do that, and you may be putting your business  
on track to enjoy Bezos-like success in 2019. 
2018 will go down as the year that Jeff Bezos became the world’s richest man. 
With a record $141bn to his name, Bezos has eclipsed his rivals and grown 
Amazon into the second-most valuable company in the world. 
28
29
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
PREDICTION 8
56%
Of shoppers 
 expect same-day 
shipping
53%
Of shipping  
cost is in the 
 last mile
LAST MILE DELIVERY
Going the Distance
COMPANIES TO WATCH
30
As consumers turn towards e-commerce for more of their shopping 
and retail needs, users expect fast delivery to come as standard. Some 
56% of millennial shoppers expect to have same-day shipping be an 
option when they buy online1. However, only 51% currently offer 
same day shipping to date, with 61% of online shoppers willing  
to pay for the convenience of avoiding brick and mortar shopping 
trips2. 
These figures highlight the massive competitive 
advantage of the front-runner, Amazon, as it 
expands free one-day delivery options and rolls 
out one-hour delivery with Prime Now. If retailers 
want to survive in the era of Amazon, they must 
meet customer demand for faster shipping. We 
predict many real time delivery options will be 
available across various verticals. 
The last leg of the delivery supply chain, when 
a package is out for delivery to the doorstep, is 
the most expensive and inefficient aspect of the 
shipping process. Last mile delivery accounts for 
53% of the total transportation cost, and with the 
proliferation of “free shipping”, consumers are less 
likely to foot the bill3. Thus, retailers are targeting 
innovation in last mile delivery to protect margins 
and accelerate delivery times. 
Some companies are trying crowdsourced delivery 
as a less asset-intensive way to achieve agility and 
on-demand flexibility in the last mile. Customers 
are already aware and familiar with on-demand 
models like Uber, Airbnb, and Postmates, so 
adoption in the shipping supply chain would 
require minimal user education. Crowdsourced 
delivery also provides greater control over the 
shopping experience for customers and offers 
faster deliveries with enhanced visibility of  
delivery hanging. 
Larger shipping enterprises have started to 
develop urban warehouse spaces to have nearby 
access to inventory for fast customer deliveries. 
Amazon has developed 75 fulfillment centers 
within 20 miles of half of the U.S. population4, and 
it has the first-to-market advantage; large big box 
stores are offering two-day delivery for a minimum 
order while Amazon is closing in on free two-hour 
delivery. Other players are now racing to catch 
up. Ryder System, a provider of fleet management 
solutions and supply chain logistics systems 
recently announced an expansion of its  
Ryder Last Mile, a two-day home delivery  
and white-glove installation solution for  
big-and-bulky goods5. 
Competing models are also in the works,  
with the likes of Walmart testing a new drop-off 
program last year, in which employees could 
voluntarily drop-off packages to customers on  
their work commutes. While it was only tested 
in two stores in New Jersey and Arkansas, the 
potential for expansion is great as 90% of US 
consumers live within ten miles of a Walmart  
store6. Walmart’s existing physical presence  
could prove to be its advantage in standing  
up to Amazon’s elite shipping operations.
With the rise of big data, some companies are 
developing mobile warehouses to have inventory 
on-hand even closer to customers’ doorsteps. 
Companies could use customer data to see 
what they may want, even if they didn’t order 
it, allowing for delivery services to load non-
committed inventory into delivery fleets, which 
can be upsold during the delivery process. Similar 
to how Amazon shows customers additional 
products they might like during checkout, the 
driver can bring items the customer bought in the 
past or might need, providing more options to the 
customer and increasing the value of each sale  
for the delivery service.
Last mile delivery is a pain point that we see 
gaining considerable attention from retailers 
entering the next era. Amazon has already 
established itself as the front-runner, but as  
entrants from traditional retailers and 
crowdsourcing operators invest in their supply 
chains, we will enter a world of ubiquitous  
instant gratification in online retail delivery  
and varied delivery options.
1. Business Insider, Crowdsourced delivery explained: making same day shipping cheaper through local couriers, July 22, 2018
2. GoPeople, Same Day Delivery Trends and Statistics to Guide Your Business, August 2, 2018, 3. Business Insider, The challenges  
of last mile logistics & delivery technology solutions, May 10, 2018, 4. Curbed, 9 facts about Amazon’s unprecedented warehouse 
empire, November 19, 2018, 5. Ryder, Ryder Expands Last-Mile Delivery Network in 11 North American Markets, October 17, 2018
6. LiveMint, Walmart discovers why the ‘last mile’ is the hardest, July 30, 2018
31
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
COMPANIES TO WATCH
END OF
The Boys Club
Topia
PREDICTION 9
32
The technology sector has been among the most progressive when it comes  
to corporate initiatives for reaching gender balance. However, veteran  
female investors and executives are taking a different angle by improving 
accessibility to the venture backed tech ecosystem for new and prospective 
female entrants. Specifically, equal access to mentorship, funding, business 
relationships, and job opportunities is critical for gender balance to persist 
in the technology sector. Efforts to equalize access are originating from 
organized networks of decision makers, venture capital investors, and 
exceptional entrepreneurs. 
Founded in 2017 by thirty-four female venture 
capitalists, All Raise is a non-profit organization 
doing just that. The group is building a community 
for connecting female peers and decision 
makers in the tech community, bridging the gap 
between initiatives and outcomes. All Raise aims 
to double the percentage of female partners at 
US tech venture firms and increase the share of 
venture funding going to companies with female 
founders1. To reach those goals, it hosts a variety 
of social networks designed to target each piece 
of the ecosystem, including founders, investors, 
limited partners, and veteran industry executives. 
For example, one initiative called Female Founder 
Office Hours offers female entrepreneurs access 
to one-on-one mentoring from peers and venture 
investors who share advice about fundraising or 
company building. Through these networks, All 
Raise is changing the template for firms in Silicon 
Valley and beyond. 
Funding is a vital component of the tech 
ecosystem.  Investors like Aspect Ventures 
(“Aspect”) and Cowboy Ventures (“Cowboy”) 
are actively focused on accelerating the success 
of female founders and rising women in venture 
capital by promoting access to senior General 
Partners. Aspect is led by two female General 
Partners and curates an investment portfolio 
of founders that is representative of the real 
societal gender demographic. Founded by All 
Raise member Aileen Lee, Cowboy backs a large 
percentage of women entrepreneurs in its portfolio 
and helps founders build more balanced teams. 
Further up the capital stream, these investment 
strategies have garnered support from many LP 
counterparts. Aspect recently raised $181m for  
its second fund, drawing support from Melinda 
Gates and Cisco, among others2. Cowboy also 
recently closed another fundraise, and nearly  
half of the LP’s involved were women3. When 
raising money, Aileen wanted Cowboy to support 
gender balance in its cap table, embodying the 
All Raise’s mission of facilitating access for women 
in each segment of the tech ecosystem. 
Sources: 1. AllRaise.com, 2. Geek Wire, Melinda Gates invests in $181M fund for women-led VC firm Aspect Ventures, January 23, 2018
3. Pitchbook, Q&A: Aileen Lee on Cowboy Ventures’ latest fund, getting women on her cap table and what keeps her motivated,  
August 8, 2018
Female Representation in VC Across Fund Size1
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Micro 
$0-100m
Early 
$101-250m
Multi 
$251m-550m
Growth 
$551m-$1.6bn
Huge 
$1.6bn-$5bn
Female
Male
9%
91%
7%
93%
91%
9%
91%
9%
10%
90%
33
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
Sources: 4. Financial Times, How the tech industry is attracting more women, March 8, 2018, 5. Tech Crunch, Cisco is acquiring business 
intelligence startup Accompany for $270M, May 1, 2018, 6. Nextdoor Blog, Welcoming Sarah Friar to the neighborhood, October 10, 2018,  
7. Recode, Andreessen Horowitz has finally hired a woman as a general partner, as it also officially debuts a crypto fund, June 25, 2018
US VC Activity in Companies with at least one female founder1
2008
0%
15%
10%
5%
20%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
% of Total Deals
% of Total Deal Value
Female entrepreneurs are rewriting the narrative 
at the startup level as well. Textio, co-founded by 
Kieran Snyder, leverages artificial intelligence to 
correct gender bias and predict the performance 
of business documents as they’re being written. 
Last year, the four-year-old startup helped Nvidia 
boost the percentage of women applicants 
by 28% and increased the number of women 
Vodafone recruited by 7%, all by rephrasing  
job listings4. To fuel its growth, Textio was able  
to raise money from Cowboy, serving as a proof 
point and an inspiration that there are available 
opportunities and resources for the taking and 
the time is ripe for women considering the field. 
Growing from a startup to a valuable enterprise 
is a challenge that requires access to sources of 
capital and strong business relationships. With 
leaders like Aspect and All Raise promoting 
accessibility and action, we are seeing a growing 
number of rock star female founders shake up the 
M&A markets with successful exits. Amy Chang, 
who founded the relationship intelligence platform 
Accompany, led her business from startup to 
disrupter with investments from female forward 
investors like Floodgate Ventures (“Floodgate”). 
Last year, Amy, Floodgate, and other stakeholders 
celebrated a successful exit to Cisco for $270 
million5. Following the deal, Cisco installed Amy  
as SVP of its Collaboration Technology Group  
for her expertise and impact in the space.
We are seeing a push for change from the  
top to unify the tech industry’s decision makers  
and facilitate the success of prospective female 
entrants. In 2018, neighborhood networking 
platform NextDoor named Sarah Friar its first 
female CEO6, and Andreessen Horowitz hired  
its first female general partner, Katie Haun7. In  
an industry historically known for its gender bias, 
female leaders in the tech ecosystem are taking 
a new angle at building a community of support 
and accessibility. These types of initiatives give 
conviction that there will be a shift in the tide  
to come in 2019.
34
35
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
PREDICTION 10
PROFESSIONAL CAPITAL SOURCES
Scouting for Entry Points into Blockchain
COMPANIES TO WATCH
36
Between January 2017 and January 2018, Bitcoin’s price rocketed from $800 to 
nearly $20,000. Over twelve months, we watched the explosion of cryptocurrencies 
– moving them from the periphery firmly into the mainstream and putting 
blockchain at the front of the corporate agenda. When we predicted a crypto 
bloodbath in our 2018 research report “Token Frenzy – The fuel of the 
blockchain”, precisely specified as a 90% correction of the overall market with a 
wipe out of the majority of cryptocurrencies in the course of 2018, we saw the 
need for a correction at a time of unprecedented global blockchain and crypto 
euphoria. The velocity with which the market plummeted and many 
cryptocurrencies went to zero value after reaching an overall market cap of over 
$800bn,  has nonetheless surprised. Also Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) stalled 
to centre around fewer projects such as Telegram and EOS. But we haven’t seen 
the last of blockchain and cryptocurrency. 
Underneath the surface, activity in Distributed 
Ledger Technology (“DLT”) is in full speed, even 
within financial institutions. Clearly, no one 
wants to take the lead, but given the pace 
of innovation, there is a thin line between 
being first and being last. Since many market 
participants on the financial and strategic side 
are aware they largely missed benefiting from 
the digital revolution, we expect they’ll ensure 
they do not miss out on the blockchain and 
cryptocurrency revolution. 
200
815
514
255
467
237
298
193
203
Total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market*, last 12 months, USDbn.
Institutional money flowing into crypto
331
Global crypto assets under management, USDbn
Decreasing volatility, growing professionalism, regulatory adjustments
April 13
Barclays announces 
crypto trading desk
May 31
Bittrex announces the 
launch of a USD/BTC 
trading pair
June 25
Andreesen Horowitz 
launches $300 million 
crypto fund
October 5
Yale invests in crypto 
fund that raised 
$400 million
May 3
Goldman Sachs 
plans to launch a 
crypto trading desk
March 19
G20 meet and focus 
on crypto regulation
June 6
SEC states that Bitcoin 
is not a security
July 2
Coinbase Custody 
opens its doors 
for business
October 15
Fidelity is launching 
a crypto trading and 
storage platform
September 13
BitGo receives 
approval to act 
as a custodian
June 15
SEC states that 
Ethereum is not 
a security
Nov 17
Dec 17
Jan 18
Feb 18
Mar 18
Apr 18
May 18
Jun 18
July 18
Aug 18
Sep 18
Oct 18
July 16
Ethos launches crypto 
wallet and plans for 
fiat gateway
October 23
Coinbase receives 
approval to act 
as a custodian
Source: CoinMarketCap; cryptofundresearch.com, *A simplified representation
37
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
We predict 2019 will be the year of institutional 
capital inflow into blockchain, which will not 
be solely financially motivated, but backed by 
increasing demand we see on the corporate and 
family office side and their desire to build positions. 
Initially this will happen through funds, equity 
investing into blockchain technology projects 
as well as financial instruments and derivative 
products related to major cryptocurrencies. But 
the question remains: what obstructs professional 
capital inflow? 
Regulation: The regulator has taken a thoughtful 
approach on cryptocurrencies of which most 
are categorized as securities apart from Bitcoin 
and Ethereum. Both now officially classified by 
the SEC as non-securities, with Bitcoin being 
considered a replacement for sovereign 
currencies and Ethereum a commodity, like 
oil or gold – with the rationale mainly linked to 
their level of decentralization. The regulatory 
security, particularly among those two, protocols 
is expected to be reflected in how capital is 
allocated in the sector, directly and through 
derivative products.
Most other ICOs and cryptocurrencies are in 
fact security offerings and increasingly will need 
to adhere to regulation and AML/KYC, most of 
which is troublesome if not impossible ex-post. 
There is a massive wave of fully compliant security 
token offerings (“STOs”) lined up and also the 
developments around tokenization of assets 
(“TOAs”) is extensive – both are expected to 
continue to raise the bar on market standards 
very fast and hence become a focus area of 
activity, also because they resemble blockchain 
equivalents of existing banking products that 
investors are very familiar with.  
Custodianship: The market needs banking-grade 
custodian solutions of which many promising 
initiatives are underway. Most of the large volume 
trades are done over-the-counter (“OTC”) mostly 
via as yet unregulated intermediaries. Absorbing 
the risks in executing these transactions through 
standardized and audited processes as well 
as later on the risk of total loss through errors in 
managing custody will be key comfort to the 
broader scale of professional investors. Offerings 
structured as tokenized financial products are 
expected to initially absorb substantial volumes 
and allow avoidance of direct handling of 
cryptocurrencies.
Liquidity: We have seen an increase in the number 
of regulated exchanges and large banks getting 
involved in the cryptocurrency exchange field. 
There is strong activity in launching index and 
derivative products as well as Exchange Traded 
Funds (“ETFs”) for Bitcoin and eventually some 
major altcoins soon. Lastly, stablecoins – 1:1 fiat 
backed tokens –  will serve as a haven for investors 
to deal with liquidity and to manage the still high 
volatility. More institutionally backed projects will 
go live soon and contribute to liquidity and hence 
adoption. 
Overall, the correction is ongoing and healthy for 
the sector to allow the technology to catch up. 
The main activities we currently see are around 
building the products and services aimed at 
reducing the barriers of adoption both on the retail 
and institutional side. The capital formation at the 
exchange and issuance platform level is expected 
to catalyze near-term consolidation aimed at 
growing the number of wallets, users and trading 
volumes.  We look forward to an interesting 2019 in 
DLT and expect another wave of hype - this time 
more technology and product focused.
38
EXPERT VIEW
Olga Feldmeier
CEO, Smart Valor
But, like all major technologies, it will take time  
to find its feet – this is, after all, a marathon and  
not a sprint. 
Cryptocurrencies have a fundamental security 
advantage and therefore have a safe place in 
our financial world. However, there are still hurdles 
to mass adoption that need to be removed – and 
these are not just of a technical nature.  
Regulations will need to keep up on all things 
crypto in order to protect investors and provide 
more trust in these new asset classes, which is the 
ultimate prerequisite for broader adoption. 
Right now, smaller jurisdictions are moving quickly 
to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, for example 
the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority 
(FINMA) recently announced a new fintech license 
to support innovative financial companies. 
Blockchain, the technology that enables 
cryptocurrencies to operate, is also backing asset 
tokenization, which is disrupting how we manage 
ownership of real assets. By converting rights in an 
asset into tokens, transactions can be handled 
faster, can be done peer-to-peer without the 
middlemen taking a margin. But most importantly, 
the minimum investment threshold are much lower, 
allowing access to asset classes that were out of 
reach for many.
At SMART VALOR, we are building the first 
regulated exchange and investment platform  
for such tokenized assets. We have requests from 
over 50 projects so far and we get ten requests 
every week. 
We’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg at the 
moment, with more than $1bn-worth of assets 
tokenized so far. In H1 2019 I expect this figure 
to pass $10bn, which is just a tiny fraction of the 
massive trillion-dollar opportunity that alternative 
investment methods offer.
Adoption of tokenized assets is occurring most 
where there is less effort required on the back-end, 
in terms of complex documentation of ownership 
and transfer of it. 
Alternative investments such as private equity funds, 
venture capital funds as well as tokenized fungible 
commodities are three areas progressing at pace. 
But the biggest challenge remains the regulatory 
environment, as we are comprehensively leaving 
the beaten path by pursuing these innovations. 
We at SMART VALOR are discussing these topics 
with the regulatory offices here in Switzerland and 
Liechtenstein and get strong support for the industry 
innovations required for these asset classes, while 
staying 100% compliant with regulations to protect 
investors.
As for what investors need to do today: as usual, 
they have to determine what level of risk they are 
willing to take – remember these are until now 
unregulated waters, and they are operating under 
unclear legal and regulatory conditions for now.
But Financial authorities, for their part, have stepped 
up their efforts to protect investors and are shutting 
down uncompliant players in the market. 
The crypto market is still in its early stage and so high 
volatility is to be expected. Over the mid-to-long 
term, cryptocurrency is a new alternative class of 
digital financial products that offers many benefits. 
And there will be offerings that are fully regulated 
and under a reliable legislation like SMART VALOR. 
That’s why I am certain they will find mass adoption 
– first with progressive, innovative investors, and then 
others who will follow in their footsteps. 
Cryptocurrencies will continue to innovate  
beyond the well-known bitcoin and Ethereum,  
and we will see many more coin and payment 
products emerging. All that will clear the way for 
mass adoption, which we will see in the second  
half of 2019.  
The past 12 months have seen cryptocurrencies become a mainstay of international 
headlines and face the ups and downs of fast-moving market trends. Speculation in the 
second half of 2017 led to a cryptocurrency boom as buyers searched for quick wins. 
However, reality kicked in when market opportunities were not immediately as lucrative  
as some speculators had imagined. 
39
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
AUTHORS
This report was compiled through the expert insights of GP 
Bullhound’s worldwide team alongside detailed analysis of 
investment trends in the global technology sector in recent years.
 It is intended to provide our predictions for growth, investment, 
and impact in the digital economy in 2019. Each year, we provide 
a transparent assessment of our predictions from the previous 
report to maintain a high level of scrutiny on our own research. 
40
PER ROMAN 
Managing Partner 
JONATHAN CANTWELL 
Director 
ALEC DAFFERNER 
Partner 
SEBASTIAN MARKOWSKY 
Director 
ERIC CROWLEY 
Vice President 
OKAN INALTAY 
Associate 
CONNOR SMITH 
Intern 
ROBERTO TABET 
Intern 
37
GP BULLHOUND TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS 2019
SIMON 
NICHOLLS 
Partner
 
ADAM 
PAGE 
Associate
FELIX 
BRATELL 
Associate
 
RAVI 
GHEDIA 
Vice President
 
PER 
LINDTORP 
Director
 
SIR MARTIN 
SMITH 
Chairman
 
FLORIS BACKER 
VAN OMMEREN 
Executive Director
 
CARL 
ELFVING 
Analyst
 
ANN  
GREVELIUS 
Senior Advisor
JAVED 
HUQ 
Vice President
 
DIPAM 
PATEL 
Associate
MATTHEW 
FINEGOLD 
Associate
 
SEBASTIAN 
MARKOWSKY 
Director
 
SVEN 
RAEYMAEKERS 
Partner
 
STAFFAN 
INGEBORN 
Non-Executive 
Director
 
CARL 
WESSBERG 
Executive Director
 
HAMPUS 
HELLERMARK 
Analyst
 
CHRISTIAN 
LAGERLING 
Co-founder & 
Senior Advisor
KARL 
BLOMSTERWALL 
Associate
 
FRAENZE 
GADE 
Vice President, 
Events
 
ALON 
KUPERMAN 
Director
 
OLIVER 
SCHWEITZER 
Executive Director
 
JOAKIM 
DAL 
Partner
 
PER 
ROMAN 
Managing Partner
 
SIMON 
MIREMADI 
Associate
 
ELENA 
BOCHAROVA 
Analyst
 
SETH 
ALPERT 
Senior Advisor
 
OUR TEAM
PAUL 
GAILLARD 
Associate
JONATHAN 
CANTWELL 
Director
 
JULIAN 
RIEDLBAUER 
Partner
 
GRAEME 
BAYLEY 
Partner & 
Group CFO
 
ED 
PRIOR 
Associate
 
PIERCE 
LEWIS-OAKES 
Analyst
 
MIKE 
MORTELL 
Senior Advisor
 
BEN  
PRADE 
Director
 
JAIME  
MORENO 
Vice President, 
Strategy
ALESSANDRO 
CASARTELLI 
Director
 
JAIME 
SENDAGORTA 
Associate
CECILIA  
ROMAN 
Senior Advisor
CHRISTOPH 
GRUNEWALD 
Associate
 
NIKOLAS 
WESTPHAL 
Director
 
ANDRE 
SHORTELL 
Partner
 
ROBERT 
AHLDIN 
Partner
 
JACOB 
LOVENSKIOLD 
Analyst
 
JOE  
TABBERER 
Vice President
CLAUDIO 
ALVAREZ 
Partner
 
OKAN 
INALTAY 
Associate
DAVE 
NISH 
Vice President, 
Technology
 
OSKAR 
HERDLAND 
Director, ECM
 
GREG 
SMITH 
Partner
 
ADAM  
BIRNBAUM 
Director
 
BULAT MARDANOV 
Analyst
GIOIA  
GERBELLI 
Associate
 
HUGH 
CAMPBELL 
Managing Partner
 
JOY 
SIOUFI 
Vice President
 
NICK 
HORROCKS 
Director
 
MIGUEL  
KINDELAN 
Executive Director
 
GUILLAUME 
BONNETON 
Partner
IMAN 
CRISBY 
Vice President, 
Marketing
 
MATHILDE 
JAKOBSSON 
Associate, Events 
& Marketing 
RACHAEL  
SHAPIRO 
Analyst
THEA 
MOELL 
Analyst
JOHANNES 
ÅKERMARK 
Vice President
 
ERIC 
CROWLEY 
Vice President
 
ELSA 
HU 
Director
 
ALEXIS 
SCORER 
Executive Director
 
ALEC 
DAFFERNER 
Partner
 
MANISH 
MADHVANI 
Managing Partner
 
MARVIN 
MAERZ 
Associate
 
REDA BEN 
LARBI 
Analyst
 
MANON 
RODIER 
Analyst
 
41
42
ABOUT US
OUR MARQUEE  
CREDENTIALS
ABOUT US
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