The best business predictions are a combination of both art and science. (That’s what makes them predictions.)
You have undoubtedly seen countless predictions already for what will happen in 2025, but we wanted to share some specifically related to innovation, corporate strategy, and startups, based on the unique perspective we have in our day-to-day work building advantaged startups.
Here’s what High Alpha Innovation leaders believe will be top of mind for CEOs and strategy leaders at large corporations and startup founders in the year ahead — and how they will impact their ability to grow and scale.
(Side note: We’re also launching a new podcast series alongside this article where we go in-depth with a number of leaders across High Alpha Innovation to talk about specific trends in their field and work. Sign up for our Wavelength newsletter to get new episodes of our Advantaged podcast sent right to your inbox.)
1) A retreat to the core business
High Alpha Innovation CEO Elliott Parker
Due to continued inflationary pressures and strained corporate operating budgets, we expect corporate innovation teams to feel increased pressure in 2025 and retrench to the core to produce short-term impact.
This won't relieve the pressure executive teams feel to innovate outside the core — in particular, in response to opportunities and threats posed by artificial intelligence.
So, expect corporate executives to lean more on alternative approaches to traditional corporate innovation in the years ahead, including venture investment, partnerships with startups, and external venture building.
2) New public-private partnerships emerge
High Alpha Innovation General Manager Lesa Mitchell
We know the new administration is focused on deregulation. This presents a huge opportunity in many different sectors, particularly in the energy arena.
In 2023, High Alpha Innovation convened leaders from across the energy industry. Each of these executives and strategy directors shared their thoughts on the complicated state of innovation in the sector.
More specifically, these leaders touched on the many federal regulations that make the creation and implementation of new, transformative technologies across the energy industry almost impossible today.
As regulations ease, there are massive opportunities for new entrants to innovate. Along with regulation, one would assume we will see new entrants (or the scaling of current ones) in the areas of blockchain and privacy.
As we see programs cut at the governmental level, this opens the canvas where for-profits may need to be created where previous government-funded programs have stood for the last 20 years.
3) The death of corporate accelerators
High Alpha Innovation Managing Director Ryan Larcom
Corporations are increasingly dissatisfied with accelerators. In this capital-constrained environment, they're reallocating innovation budgets away from this perceived ‘innovation theater’ and into near-term strategic benefits.
With broad thematic cohorts, corporations don't always get startups that fit their needs and goals. And, in their eyes, many startups aren’t willing to do the work to form partnerships that yield advantage for both parties.
Long-term financial benefits increasingly matter less to corporations. It takes too long for startups to hit their quarterly earnings metrics. Over that timeframe, it’s hard to prove that accelerator-style investments — ones that provide only single-digit equity — return meaningful value for corporations.
4) Innovation alignment with North Star goals
High Alpha Innovation Build Director Molly Cross
Corporate innovation teams are being required to show real outcomes that have tangible impact and prove the measurable return on investment and value of their strategies to internal leadership and board members.
Innovation activities undertaken in 2025 will need to show clear alignment to corporations’ strategy.
Proving the value of long-term innovation initiatives is hard. That’s why we expect companies to focus on fewer, but bigger, bets with the potential to be more disruptive in and adjacent to their industries.
5) The next stage of the AI revolution
High Alpha Innovation Portfolio Success Director Nate Schmidt
Artificial intelligence is advancing at a pace far faster than most people realize.
We’re seeing our portfolio companies continue to build next-gen, AI-powered platforms to solve big problems facing their target audiences. In 2025, we’ll only continue to see AI product development accelerate (and rapidly).
Productivity is an interesting AI use case where we’re seeing a lot of innovation.
Case in point: I recently started using a tool called Wispr Flow that allows me to talk to my computer instead of typing. It’s reduced my typing by 80% without sacrificing accuracy. This is just a glimpse of what’s coming.
Over the next year, we’ll see AI move beyond being a browser-based phenomenon and become deeply integrated into our phones, homes, and cars.
Put simply, AI will transform how we interact with tech, enabling us to have ongoing, meaningful conversations with systems that handle real-world tasks for us. It will usher in a new era of productivity and convenience far beyond what we’ve experienced so far.
What’s more, it’ll continue to help large corporations across industries tackle major challenges: from diverting wood waste to power plants, to streamlining pharmaceutical MLR reviews.
6) Agentic AI to change workforce dynamics
High Alpha Innovation Portfolio & Network Director Nolan Bernard
Agentic AI has the potential to significantly disrupt the workforce in contact centers by automating Level 1 and Level 2 service tasks that traditionally involve routine issue resolution and basic troubleshooting.
This shift could lead to a reduced need for front-line contact center employees, presenting an opportunity to retrain and redeploy them into industries experiencing labor shortages, such as blue-collar or manufacturing roles.
As manufacturing, in particular, increasingly embraces automation and smart technologies, these displaced workers could bring transferable skills like problem-solving, customer orientation, and familiarity with digital tools.
This transition would not only address workforce displacement but also help bridge talent gaps in essential sectors, aligning with the growing demand for adaptable, tech-savvy employees in the evolving economy.
7) More healthcare challenges solved with AI
High Alpha Innovation Build Director Mamta Elias
Rising healthcare costs and severe workforce shortages at health systems continue to create opportunities for HealthTech startups with AI platforms to alleviate pressures facing professionals industry-wide.
The most successful startups work directly with health systems to build practical solutions that tackle immediate problems and drive clear ROI, like reducing administrative burden or enabling more efficient patient care delivery.
In 2025, look for HealthTech startups to continue to address major pain points facing providers by working within existing healthcare workflows and augmenting medical professionals’ work with new and novel AI technologies — the use of which will lead to better, more personalized care for patients.
8) Humanity, connection, and authenticity key
High Alpha Innovation Managing Director Rob Kimball
The combination of Year 5 of the Zoom Era, the explosion of AI that makes it hard to tell what's person- and machine-made, and geopolitical uncertainty will make it an extremely disorienting environment to navigate in 2025.
The thing to remember here is that even giant, bureaucratic organizations are composed of people who need human connection and trust to be emboldened to make hard choices with uncertain outcomes (like innovating).
The winners in 2025 will be those who lean into the humanity of strategic decision-making, even when using AI.
9) Proliferation of AI at large enterprises, with innovation teams leading the charge
High Alpha Innovation SVP, Partnerships Morgan Berman
As individuals become more familiar with AI tools and technology in their personal world, they will push for their employees to adopt more AI solutions at work. The consumer-driven trend will force the organizations to think holistically about how to innovate alongside AI, and the speed of innovation will increase.
Innovation teams, often led by early adopters, will be at the forefront of these trends and will push for innovation outside of the core to spur the adoption of AI and move the enterprise forward.
At the same time, corporate venture capital funds will look to increase investment in AI solutions that are either purpose-built for their industry or, at the very least, have an industry-specific use case.
10) The rise of the ecosystem strategy
High Alpha Innovation Business Development Manager Nick Wichert
Corporations are increasingly shifting from linear, siloed strategies to ecosystem-oriented approaches, recognizing that competitive advantage often lies in their ability to co-create value with external partners.
This trend involves building strategic partnerships, creating shared platforms, and integrating into broader networks that combine resources, talent, and data.
In other words? Expect open innovation to become more popular (and vital) in 2025. Ecosystem strategies will enable companies to tap into adjacent industries, share risks, and innovate faster by leveraging external expertise.
For example, automotive companies are collaborating with energy providers and tech firms to build EV charging networks. Meanwhile, financial institutions are forming ecosystems with fintechs to offer seamless digital services.
This approach positions large corporations as orchestrators rather than standalone players, enabling them reshape their corporate strategy and be more collaborative, adaptive, and resilient in an interconnected world.
